


Height

by Coryphee



Series: Height [1]
Category: Big Time Rush (TV)
Genre: Falling In Love, Kogan - Freeform, M/M, Slash, cheesy fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 30,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24997207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coryphee/pseuds/Coryphee
Summary: Logan finds out being short isn't all that bad.
Relationships: Kendall Knight/Logan Mitchell
Series: Height [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809592
Comments: 45
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

Logan knew the average height for men in the US was 5 feet, 9 inches. So, with his 5 ft 7, he was just a little bit shorter than average. Shortness in itself didn't bother Logan, he found he enjoyed plenty of perks. All of his shirts fit without being either too wide or too short and Logan managed to find good jeans in any store -even in spite of James, who should not be so terribly picky about his friends' clothes. Logan was also never bothered with trying to squeeze his legs in the tiny space between airplane seats and had never once hit his head because he couldn't fit under door frames. 

Sure, there were struggles too. Statistically, tall men were considered more attractive and earned more money; but since Big Time Rush took off, he made more money than he knew what to do with and if the amount of proposals from fans gave him any indication, Logan wasn't doing half bad. Admittedly, he wasn't getting as many as James - which was fair, considering how pretty his friend was- or Kendall - which bothered Logan more - but Logan had actually done the one-sample t-test of that particular problem and within the 95% confidence interval they weren't getting significantly more letters than Logan or Carlos, so he decided that being tall wasn't a valid predictor in their particular sample. Though Logan had to admit four guys in the same band were not a big enough sample size and if he truly wanted to refute James' hypothesis that being tall got him more girls, Logan would need all the data from all the boybands and do a much bigger study. 

Logan decided such an extensive project was pointless; James wouldn't understand a single word.

Also, Logan got a kick out of showing James the data he found originally and exaggerating their significance to take his tallest friend down a notch. That particular speech had Carlos laughing hysterically at James' indignation and Logan was glad to give his fellow shorty a confidence boost when it came to girls. Kendall had watched on with amusement but kept mostly quiet. Logan knew Kendall saw through his big words and knew that the numbers he'd quickly scribbled across his whiteboard were a big bluff. Logan was greatly appreciative of Kendall when he chose not to tell James, even though Logan figured that had more to do with James stealing Kendall's twinkies earlier. 

But even if Logan could prove there was no significant difference between being tall or short with all the data in the world, he knew that his height was a disadvantage. 

Logan was constantly placed in front of James and Kendall in pictures, even though he preferred not to be in the centre. Those guys were more interested in being famous than Logan ever was, even if it wasn't in the profession Kendall aspired, and Logan was completely fine on the flank. So it frustrated him to no end when producers put him in a flashy red shirt and a leather jacket that wasn't his style at all and shoved him in the front under the pretence that ‘he was short’ and ‘being upfront made the picture flow better.'. Logan didn't even know what the hell that meant. 

And then when they were finally sent home after long days, Logan was always shot down for sitting shotgun, because Kendall and James supposedly couldn't fit their legs in the back of the car. Logan knew for a fact this wasn't true, because they were never bothered sitting in the back when there was a girl involved. It didn't matter that Logan got road sick sitting in the back because apparently being nauseous and dizzy wasn't as uncomfortable as hitting your knees to a cushioned leather seat for the ten-minute ride back to the Palm Woods. 

How the seats in the car got divided was probably the most unfair abuse of the height difference, but if Logan had to pick the most annoying it was the absolute impediment of getting anything from the upper shelves. Carlos solved that problem by hauling himself up on the counters with the same grace as a gorilla, but Logan considered himself more sophisticated and refused to lower himself to that. The next best thing was to get the step stool Mrs. Knight used, but the use of that was always accompanied with merciless teasing from James and Carlos. 

Logan resolved to just not need anything from the top shelves and kept his personal favourites lower to the floor to bypass the problem entirely. However, when one of the guys was annoyed with him, they would place his stuff on the very top of the cabinets and watch him struggle. It drove Logan nuts. 

So when Logan came home that night, trudging behind his friends after a long day filled with being in the front in pictures and dance practice and still nauseous from the car ride home - next time it was Carlos' turn to drive Logan would walk home, so he vouched when his maniac of a friend actually went about a roundabout in the wrong fucking direction. Logan just wanted to get his favourite lemon-and-ginger green tea and hide out in the room he shared with Kendall with his new book on psychology. 

Which was why his blood boiled when he found the necessities for his favourite afternoon beverage gone from their spot. He knew exactly who was responsible.

"JAMES!"

"Yeah?" His tallest friend asked sweetly.

"Why?" Logan demanded, even though he had the strongest inkling. He hoped against hope that one of the guys he called his best friends was not that petty. 

"You took up my bathroom time this morning."

James was that petty. 

Carlos saw the murderous look on Logan's face and beelined for the front door to go see Stephanie. Kendall ignored them both and put in earbuds as he dropped down on the couch.

"Are you kidding me?! You were only halfway through your hair ritual by the time it was my turn, if I didn't kick you out when I did, I wouldn't even have been able to brush my teeth before leaving for the studio!"

"And I keep telling you; take your toothbrush to the kitchen sink."

"That's highly unsanitary."

"Then get up before me."

"You're in there for ninety minutes! I'm not getting up two hours early for the ten minutes I need to shower and brush my teeth."

"You don't do your hair? No wonder it bothers me."

"I don't when we're doing photoshoots, because they sent us fucking stylist to do that crap all over again! Why the hell would you need ninety minutes to fix it just right when an hour later you're back in a chair and they do it for you?!"

"I need to look good whenever I leave the house."

Logan considered throwing one of the cups at James' head, but kept himself from it by thinking of all the ways Gustavo would kill him for ruining 'the face.' Instead, Logan threw up his hands in utter disbelief and without another word, he went to hallway closet to get the stool. 

Only to find it missing. 

"JAMES! I'm gonna kill you."

Logan stormed back to the kitchen and found James leaning against the counter. Oh, what Logan would give to wipe the stupid smug smirk off his face. "Where is it?"

"Where is what?" James asked sweetly. 

Logan gritted his teeth. "You are the most narcissistic, narrow-minded, contemptible son of a bitch I ever met. Take my stuff down."

"I don't understand any of the words you just said, but I know you were insulting me. So, no, I don't think I will."

"How can you not know! I call you those things every time I'm mad at you! Even you can take a minute to look them up in a thesaurus."

James pulled a face. "What does a dinosaur have to do with anything?"

Logan blinked a few times, trying to comprehend how ignorant James was. "Dino- I can't even... what!"

"You know, for a genius, you are a complete mess with words."

Logan thought his head might actually explode and it was very fortunate for James he wasn't near any mugs at this point. Logan wasn't a violent person and those thoughts scared him, so he decided he needed to get away as soon as possible or risk hurting James. 

"James, enough."

Both Logan and James looked over at Kendall, who had finally taken out his earbuds. 

"You," James drew out the word unnecessarily and waved at Kendall dismissively, "Need to keep out of this."

"I really don't."

"You wanna bet?"

"I don't need to." Kendall rolled his eyes and got up. "You are being a huge asshole."

"Logan took my bathroom time!"

"No, you didn't keep to yours and we had five minutes until we needed to leave for the studio. It was his turn." 

"The schedule is stupid," James declared. 

"The schedule is what keeps us from murdering you. Now shoo. Leave him alone."

Logan watched James scowl and leave, before turning to Kendall. "You didn't need to intervene."

"Yeah, you looked like someone who had it totally handled."

Logan crossed his arms. "I did," He lied stubbornly. 

Kendall didn't call him on his bullshit. "And you should also know better than to use big words around James, he already thinks you're making fun of him way more often than you actually are."

"I know," Logan grumbled. 

Kendall pulled up a corner of his mouth. "So what did he stash away now?"

"Tea."

Logan could tell Kendall wanted to point out how the severity of the fight didn't weigh up to the triviality of Logan's favourite tea, but he was grateful when Kendall apparently decided to sidestep the issue. They all had stuff they were irrationally fond of -a certain helmet came to mind. 

Kendall spotted the box high up and the next thing Logan knew his friend was right in front of him. Logan stilled in his spot when Kendall reached over him to get the package. Kendall's legs pressed along Logan's and he braced himself with a hand on Logan's side. It was only for the two seconds it took Kendall to take the package off the shelve, but Logan's skin tingled under Kendall's hand and he felt his heart flutter.

"Here."

Logan managed to shake himself from his frozen state when Kendall pressed the tea in his hands. He was confused; Logan was in close contact with his friends all the time, why was this different? 

Kendall studied him; one crazy eyebrow raised. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks, uh, for my tea." Logan held up the package and felt lame. 

"Cool. You know, James was only this vindictive because that girl didn’t call him back yesterday."

"I... actually didn't know."

"I'm not saying you need to apologize to him or anything, but maybe that provides some context to his unusual need for vengeance."

Logan raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Vengeance? Vindictive? You're using big words."

Kendall grinned and Logan was taken aback by the sudden light in his eyes, trying not to think of how close they still were. "Unlike James, I do pay attention."

________________________________________________________________________________

Logan was on his toes for the next couple of days after his fight with James, but not because they were still squabbling. James apologised later that night with chocolate milk and videogames. It was Kendall's grabby hand that kept bothering him. No, that wasn't fair, Kendall touching him didn't bother him as much as his own reaction had. Since when did he freeze when a friend put a hand on him? They all touched each other, almost continuously throughout the day, for all of the sixteen years he'd known them, and Logan would be more worried if any of them ever stopped touching him. 

This was why it was extra peculiar that Kendall's touch bothered him and his brain was working overtime. One explanation he came up with was that he had been worked up from his fight with James and the contact had simply been sudden to his adrenaline-filled body. Another could be that he'd developed sudden onset tactile hyperesthesia and Logan was now sensitive to anyone touching him. That argument was refuted quickly when his body didn't show the same symptoms when Carlos wrapped an arm around him or when James slapped him on the back. 

Logan reluctantly came to the conclusion that he was sensitive to Kendall touching him. A little experiment the day after his fight with James cleared it up. They had just finished dance rehearsal and Logan was certain he was just as worked up as yesterday, even if this was exhaustion and yesterday he'd been furious. It would have to do; he didn't plan on starting another fight with James any time soon. 

When Kendall suggested to go get ice cream and Carlos wanted to go for corn dogs, Logan took his chance and sided with Kendall -which he would have anyway because he couldn't stand the smell of corn dogs after Carlos constantly waving them under his nose- and sure enough, Kendall grinned and lay an arm around his shoulders. 

The side hug had been fine, it was Kendall's signature move, and Logan had anticipated it. What had not been fine, was how when the argument ended and they started their way back to the changing room, Kendall's hand ran down his back slowly and Logan shivered. Logan closed his eyes to regain his composure and prayed that Kendall didn't notice how his face had flushed. That hope was idle; Kendall was watching him curiously, amused when he opened his eyes.

Not good. 

"What was that?" Kendall asked him. Damn Kendall, always prying. 

"Little chilly, I guess," Logan made up. He didn't know what that was, hence why he'd put himself in the situation in the first place. 

"You're sweating, we were just drilled by Mr. X."

Logan scrambled for an answer. "Yeah, you know, diaphoresis and such."

Kendall laughed. "I actually don't know, Logie. It's almost like-"

Logan never found out what it was almost like because Carlos stalked back into the studio quickly followed by James, both of them demanding Kendall and Logan pick their side when it came to which ice cream place to go to. 

Logan was instantly distracted. It was his turn to pick, damnit. 

__________________________________________________________________________________

The next night Logan settled on the couch with his book, pretending to read, while really observing his second tallest friend. Usually, after dinner all his friends left the apartment for their various shenanigans around the hotel. James went down to the pool to catch the last hour of sun, Carlos and Katie found some other residents to play along in their massive water balloon fight in the park -apparently Katie and Buddha Bob came up with a way to fill many balloons quickly and Logan wanted nothing to do with the absolute shitload of colourful water bombs. To his surprise, Kendall also passed up the opportunity. This was unexpected behaviour because Kendall never backed down from a fight, but even more so because instead of engaging in a fun-filled night with his friends, he was helping his mother clean the kitchen. 

Kendall was a good son, yes, but as far as Logan remembered -and Logan remembered quite a lot- this never happened before. Kendall carried up groceries and kept Katie out of too much trouble, but he didn't volunteer household tasks. Logan offered his help when they started, as he often did help out when he was the only one left in the apartment with Mrs. Knight. She took him and his friends to LA and took care of them even now they were all adults and Logan wanted to help her out; she was more of a mother to him than his own ever was. However, both Knights had assured him they were good. 

Logan honestly tried to read when they just started, but he was distracted early on when they actually seemed to be having fun. The whole scene was endearing and wholesome and more entertaining than his novel. Kendall had climbed on top of the counter to clean off the top of the cabinets. The irony of that wasn't lost on Logan, given he had refused to climb up just a day before, but Kendall was confident in ways Logan wasn't. 

Logan's eyes travelled along Kendall's body as he washed the top of the cabinets. He was still wearing the plaid shirt he'd worn to the studio, but he’d unbuttoned it and rolled up his sleeves. Logan watched closely as a drop of water ran down his forearm; Kendall had been working out with James a few days a week for a while now and his bicep was flexed as he held up the bucket. Kendall wasn't ripped like James, but still very athletic and Logan enjoyed how broad his shoulders were and the more subtle display of muscle and-

And oh god, since when did Logan think Kendall was hot?

Logan managed to tear his eyes off his best friend when Kendall climbed down the counter, keeping them firmly on the page in front of him. Logan pretended to read while he listened to Kendall and his mom and dared to glance at them through his lashes when they laughed. Kendall had taken his bucket to the island and was now scrubbing the stove. This was probably the dirtiest place in the kitchen, considering the number of chicken nuggets and corn dogs Mrs. Knight fried up every other day. Kendall had taken off his shirt and was just wearing a white t-shirt, which clung to his skin and what the hell was happening?

Apparently, Kendall felt eyes on him and glanced over at Logan, who was unsuccessful this time and didn't manage to look away soon enough. Logan wasn't sure what he expected to happen, but it definitely wasn't the satisfied smirk that slowly spread on Kendall's lips. "You need something?" Kendall asked him. 

"I'm fine," Logan answered quickly, too quickly. 

Kendall's eyes lit up with the same knowing look he wore yesterday after practice and then Kendall winked. Logan felt his cheeks burn and that stupid smirk on Kendall's face grew wider as he went back to cleaning the stove. 

James came in then, completely soaked, bitching about Carlos and how his dumb water bombs interrupted his phone call. Logan used the commotion to discreetly slip away to his room. He needed to think. 

___________________________________________________________________________________

Logan fell on the bed in his hotel room and ran a hand down his face. He enjoyed singing and dancing with his best buds, but he did not enjoy the endless amount of PR and interviews. Logan loved their fans and he was immensely grateful for their support, but he was also a huge introvert and some of those girls were clingy. 

Thus, it was a huge relief to him that Logan got to share a hotel room with Kendall while Carlos got stuck with James. James and his hair products were the worst hotel room company. Especially compared to Kendall, who liked to lie on his bed and listen to music through his headphones and leave Logan alone. 

The ‘leaving-Logan-alone’ part was especially important considering Kendall's odd behaviour over the last week, as Logan still didn't know what to make of it. Thankfully nothing strange happened between them for a couple of days and Logan felt relatively safe in his presence. Logan considered himself a genius, but also knew he was clueless when it came to emotions and feelings. As a result, Carlos often labelled indecisive. To Logan however, overthinking definitely beat panicking when he tried to make quick decisions; especially concerning situation where his best friend winked at him. He definitely needed some time to mull that over.

Logan concluded that there was no denying he'd felt something when Kendall touched him. Logan had also decided that it didn't mean anything. They were friends. Logan had known the guy forever. As much as Logan didn't want to admit it, the reason Kendall was suddenly attractive to him was probably that he was worked up. That wasn't weird, he was in his late teens and Logan knew all about biology. 

Except it totally was weird, because since when was Kendall, the sweating, tough, hockey-head, appealing to Logan? Kendall, who was obnoxiously observant, straight forward and no-nonsense, had obviously noticed the moment Logan started reacting strangely to things that used to be so normal. At this point it bothered Logan more that Kendall hadn't said anything about Logan's strange reactions than if he had, considering how Kendall had always refused to let any secrets exist amongst his friends. 

The shower turned off in the bathroom and Logan ran a hand down his face. It wasn't like Logan had a problem dating guys. Even while being extremely socially unequipped Logan had managed to land a somewhat regular fling at a party. He was also positive he wasn't the only one in the band experimenting with guys, a game of 'secrets the other person doesn't know about' in Lucy's apartment had cleared that up.

Poor Carlos had been blindsided during the game of ‘Never have I ever’ when all his friends drank when asked if they’d ever made out with a guy. 

Logan sat up when the bathroom door opened and Kendall came out in just his boxers, water dripping from his hair onto his chest. Logan managed not to stare at him too long, as Kendall looking like that could only be a trap. "Your phone went off a couple times while you were in the bathroom," He told Kendall, his eyes firmly on the floor. 

"Thanks."

Logan checked his own phone a last time before he started gathering the stuff for his shower. He didn't register the silence on Kendall's side of the room until he wanted to go into the bathroom. "You okay?" Logan asked him, because Kendall lay entirely too still. 

"Mom found an apartment."

"What?"

"She has been looking for a place for her and Katie. Has been for a few weeks."

Logan sat next to Kendall on his bed. "Why?"

"Because we're adults, Logie. Even if we don't act like them a lot yet. Well, you do."

"So her and Katie are moving out?"

"Looks like it. Mom says she wants to give Katie the chance to go to a regular high school since she mostly uses her intellect for schemes at the Palm Woods. Mom hopes to bring out her full potential in a regular school. She's also done living with four guys and dealing with our crazy schedule."

Logan considered Katie’s intelligence to rival his own and understood why Mrs. Knight would want to put her in a better school. "I get that."

"Mom also has the notion that us living on our own will go ’well’." Kendall pulled a face that clearly said he thought his mother was nuts.

Logan chuckled. "It's like she doesn't even know us."

Kendall grinned. "We'll be fine. James and Carlos though...."

"Utter disaster."

He shook with laughter and Logan felt a twinge of pride at cheering Kendall up so easily. Logan enjoyed Kendall's smile a lot. 

"I know mom moving out should be a dream come true, but I'll miss them," Kendall confessed when he stopped laughing. 

"Where are they moving to?"

"An apartment complex a few buildings over."

Logan shook his head with a smile. "You might be a bit of a mama's boy."

Kendall attempted to hit Logan with a pillow, which he managed to dodge, and Kendall instead grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him down onto the bed. "Careful, Hortense."

"I mean, the rest of us haven't lived with our parents for nearly four years." Logan didn't exactly want to live with his parents, but that was another story.

"I know," Kendall grumbled, pulling his arm from under Logan's body. 

"And when Katie and your mom move out, we'll all finally have our own rooms."

Kendall pressed a hand to his heart in mock indignation. "Are you done bunking with me already?"

Logan laughed. "You're lucky you don't snore."

He smiled. "I think we really lucked out when we picked rooms, I would not have survived four years with James."

"Back then I never imagined we'd still be in LA four years later."

"Oh, me either. I thought we were done when it came down to that damn monkey picking the demos."

"Or when Griffin decided the band was too risky right before our first concert and sent us back to Minnesota."

"I'm glad we got to come back."

"Yeah? You had a very serious offer for a hockey scholarship right there."

Kendall smiled. "I can still play hockey. Someday. The band was a once in a lifetime deal."

"You made James very happy."

Kendall nodded. "Yeah, as far as making James' dream come true we did good."

Logan was quiet for a moment as he thought about Mrs. Knight and Katie leaving. Kendall had an amazing relationship with them and Logan felt a twinge in his chest at the thought of not seeing them every day, he loved them too. However, Kendall would still be living with him and James and Carlos and Logan knew that between the three of them, they would get Kendall through this. "I think you'll get used to living without your family."

"I know, I just need to get used to it. At least you guys are not moving out yet."

Logan frowned at Kendall's choice of words and hesitated for a moment, unsure if this was something he should talk about. "Yet?" He asked eventually, carefully. 

"Carlos and Stephanie are getting pretty serious and James has vague plans for a solo career, which we both know will be a huge success no matter what he chooses to pursue. We have success as Big Time Rush now, but I wonder how much longer that will last."

"Wow, okay, I really haven't given it much thought."

Kendall turned his head towards Logan. "I saw your acceptance letter for UCLA."

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna go." Logan had carefully kept that information to himself and he decided then and there he would finally figure out how Kendall got to be so insufferably all-knowing. He’d gone through the admission process mostly to see if he could get in at all and put off making a decision for a few months now. 

"You should though," Kendall told him and nudged him in his side. "Start making your own dream come true."

Logan shrugged and folded his hands over his stomach. "I'm getting by with online courses. Besides, we have an album left to launch, the Tween Choice Awards to prepare for, and a whole summer tour ahead of us. It's no use thinking about yet."

"I don't know a lot about college admissions, but don't they want to know relatively early if you're going to attend?"

"They do."

"By when, Logan?"

"April," He admitted. 

Kendall nodded. "I think you should do it."

Logan didn't know what to do yet. Their tour was planned for well into August, but usually Gustavo and Griffin added dates when venues opened up. If he decided to go to college, summer tour, and the band, really, suddenly had a definite time of death.

"You're allowed to make this choice, Logie."

"It would mean the end of the band."

Kendall shrugged. "Everyone has plans for after this, no one will be left without dreams or work or whatever. And honestly, you were set to graduate early and start pre-med three years ago and you put your dream on hold for us, you've earned it." 

"This has turned in a pretty heavy late-night conversation." It was Logan's way of cutting it short; Kendall's words caught him off guard and he needed to think. 

"I don't mean to push," Kendall told Logan softly. 

"I know, it just- you overwhelm me." Logan didn't remember ever being this open about his feelings.

"I try not to."

The warmth crept back into Logan's chest and he smiled up at the ceiling. Kendall was brutally honest and never tiptoed around anyone, but he was also the most considerate person Logan ever met and fiercely protective of his friends. So much so, he'd apparently deemed it vital to their friendship to give Logan space. "Thank you."

A few moments later, Kendall's arm landed on his face. "Ow," Logan moaned. 

Kendall's body shook with silent laughter and he felt around Logan's head until he found his hair. Kendall's fingers trailed along the top of his head and Logan believed had he been a feline he'd have purred. 

"Though at times I'll still push because you can get caught up in that big brain of yours."

"I don't expect anything else," Logan answered. 

The soft pads of Kendall's fingers ran through the hair behind his ear and Logan's breath caught in his throat. The skin behind his ear was sensitive and the hand in his hair stilled. The room filled with the same tension Logan felt down to his core when Kendall had pressed him up against the kitchen counter. Logan only resumed breathing when Kendall continued stroking his head. 

"Good?" Kendall asked quietly. 

Logan turned his head slightly and Kendall got the hint, softly trailing with his nails along the sensitive spot behind Logan's ear. "Yes," He whispered back. 

Kendall's hand stayed in his hair and Logan refused to think about what it meant. At that moment all he knew was how amazing it felt, and Logan never wanted to move again.   
Kendall broke the silence after a good ten minutes. "I would love to never break up the band, but I also don't want to end up like Boys in the Attic in a couple of years."

It took Logan some time to remember what they were talking about. "That would be bad."

"Terrible. I want to go out on a high."

"Well, we got to perform on Jimmy Kimmel tonight, I think we've reached high."

"You are right," Kendall laughed. "Tonight was awesome." He ruffled Logan's hair before folding his hand back under his head. Something inside Logan stung at the loss of contact.

Logan decided it was time to escape the strangest conversation he'd ever been in. It was nearly midnight and tomorrow they had more press. He sat up and grabbed his towel from the other bed. "I'll think about college."

Kendall nodded and smiled at him. "Good. Let me know."

The warmth from before hit back full force and Logan got up to flee Kendall's presence. All of tonight had left him confused and Logan needed a hot shower and sleep. 

He went into the bathroom and undressed down to his boxers to turn on the shower, only to find the showerhead all the way up high. Now, if he'd shared a room with James, Logan would have known this had been done with pure malicious intent. But Kendall wasn't like that. "Kendall?" He called. 

"Yeah?" Logan heard from the room. 

"Can you take down the shower head?"

"Yes, coming."

Kendall appeared a few seconds later, still in just his boxers. Logan hung his head and only glanced at Kendall through his peripheral while trying to step outside the cabin, but in much the same fashion as in the kitchen, Kendall stepped right up to him and reached over Logan's head to adjust the shower head. Only this time it seemed to take Kendall some time to unscrew the holder and their bodies were touching and Logan realised again Kendall was so damn tall and he was face to face with his chest and god, Kendall smelled so good.

Logan wondered what would happen if he could manage to move his rigid body to place a hand on Kendall's chest. Kendall stood so close Logan could feel his body heat and he could only imagine how good it would be press close to his body and-

Kendall pulled down the shower head and set it so Logan could reach it. When he stepped back the tips of his fingers brushed along Logan's arm and this time his skin burned. He trembled and was extremely glad for the lack of eye contact, even though Logan figured it didn't matter much anymore that Kendall saw his reaction. Kendall got out of the shower cabin and Logan peaked through his eyelashes to watch him walk out of the bathroom. 

"Enjoy your shower, Logie," Kendall told him just before the door closed. Logan could picture the smug smirk on his face clearly. As he stared at the door Kendall left through it dawned on him that the whole ordeal with the shower head had been entirely situated and Kendall had known exactly how he would respond. 

It left Logan wholly bewildered. 

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Dogs!"

Logan perked up and was instantly annoyed with himself. 'Dogs' was not an appropriate nickname and Logan refused to answer when he was compared to a canine. Subconsciously he still did, but he simply needed to retrain himself. Pavlov would come in handy for that too.

'Dogs' indeed. 

Logan followed Carlos into Gustavo's office and felt James and Kendall line up behind them. Kendall draped and arm over Logan's shoulders and he tried to ignore electric current that ran below his skin at Kendall’s touch. 

"Tomorrow night I need you to show up to this new night club Griffin invested in. I have five rules! Make sure you're photographed, cheer during Dak Zevon's performance and don't bring dates. Also, do not drink alcohol and do not embarrass me or the label."  
Gustavo allowed them a moment for futile objections to the no date rule. For once it was just Carlos complaining, as he was the only one of them in a relationship.

"Also," Gustavo shouted to drown him out. "Kimmel was pleased with your performance."

Logan smiled at the cheers from his friends. That performance had been one of their best ever and Logan was proud of what they'd achieved since they started. Also, how cool was performing on such a huge talk show and doing it well? Not a lot of artists could say that.

"However," Gustavo shouted to drown out their voices. "Griffin was so happy with the extra media attention and the money, that he booked you on two more talk shows and promised Ellen you would debut a new single on her show."

Logan's heart sank when he thought of the amount of extra work three more television appearances involved. James was immediately on board and Carlos was excited to be on Ellen, but Kendall considered the workload like Logan did. "Gustavo, we need to finish recording an album, prepare the TCA performance, do all the extra dance practice for the concerts this summer. When do you suppose we have time for all of this?"

"I haven't figured that part out. I don't even have a song yet! So, I need you to work on one of those other things you mentioned and to not be around me."

Kelly ushered them out of Gustavo's office and closed the door. "Kelly, is he serious?" Logan asked her. 

"Afraid so."

Logan sighed and met Kendall's eyes, who seemed just as displeased as Logan felt. "This sucks," Logan told him. 

"Big time," Kendall agreed. 

"College suddenly seems a lot more appealing."

Kendall grinned at their private joke and Logan felt the warmth creep back in his chest. Logan had carefully admitted to himself that he was maybe, a little bit, falling for Kendall. He had also been careful not to think too much about what the implications of that were, because as soon as he started considering the band and his plans for the future and the immeasurable value of their friendship Logan had a panic attack. So for now Logan was fine not to do anything with the kaleidoscope of butterflies that had taken residence in his belly. They flourished to life when Kendall touched him, or when Logan watched Kendall lift himself out of the pool, all wet and sparkling in the sunlight or just when their eyes met across rooms. For now, Logan was fine watching.

Kendall had picked up on it, of course, and had taken to being around Logan more often than not. 

Logan wasn't complaining. He enjoyed the attention and he felt comfortable enough letting Kendall carry on while he figured out what this was, because he was positive Kendall would stop the moment Logan told him it made him uneasy. Logan had complete faith in their friendship, they knew each other inside out and Logan had never experienced the level of trust that existed between them with anyone else. 

Kendall threw an arm around his shoulders and Logan smiled to himself. "I'll try to talk Gustavo into having us release an acoustic version of an old song on Ellen, that takes less preparation," Kendall told him.

"And we'll be sitting during an acoustic performance, so no new dance."

"Great minds think alike." They reached the studio and Kendall squeezed his shoulder before letting go of him. 

The next few hours they spent trying to get the choreo down for one of the new songs that was confirmed for the album. Logan was frustrated that it had a whole lot of new moves. Why not recycle some of the old ones in a different order? At least he had those down by now. It was an idle thought, because all his friends seemed to be getting it. James was a natural and a good performer, he got it down in no time. Kendall had his determination going for him and even if he didn't show the same finesse James did, Logan was certain he would the moment it counted. And Carlos... Logan, as a rule, didn't understand much of what happened around Carlos, or why, but it appeared he'd replaced hockey with dance as his primary outlet for all his excess energy. As long as Carlos was focused on getting it down, the learning happened all by itself. 

Logan had always been the complete opposite. He was unable to shut off his brain and just do it, he didn't possess the determination to do well -not when it came to matters he didn't care too much about- and he definitely didn't have James' X-factor. Over the years though, Logan had gotten better at handling his frustration when it came to dance. Eventually he got it down. It simply irked him that it wasn't as fast as he learned anything else. 

Kendall threw him an encouraging smile when he used his left arm instead of his right again and Logan managed not to roll his eyes. Kendall meant well and with their new dynamic in play Logan really preferred not to piss him off. Soon they would get a break, the guys would all leave to get drinks or play games or touch up their hair and Logan would stay behind to work on it alone, without all their judging eyes on him. Logan knew he would do better after. 

Logan made a beeline for his water bottle when they finally got their break and drank half before resuming his position. James and Carlos had left the studio as fast as they could, but Kendall was lingering by the door. "Do you need help?" He asked eventually.   
Logan shook his head. "No, I'm good. I know the steps, just need to get them to muscle memory."

Kendall laughed. "Sure. See you later."

Logan ran through the steps again. Not having their idiotic instructor yell at him every other second did wonders for his concentration and within ten minutes he had committed himself to the choreo. Logan knew it was far from perfect, but for now he was going for doing the right moves, later he would work on doing them well. 

Carlos returned to the studio sooner than Logan would have liked and popped up behind him with his peanut butter, extra jelly sandwich. "Logan! Come play foosball with me."

Left foot forward. "No, I'm trying to get the choreo down. Go ask James."

"James doesn't want to play foosball."

Right arm up. "Okay, then Kendall."

"I can't find Kendall."

Left arm up. "That's too bad, bud. Go do something else."

"No, I want to play foosball."

Left foot back. "Well, I don't know how to help you with that when all your friends are occupied. Go ask James again."

"James is on the phone with Lucy."

Logan sighed inwardly and let his arms fall to his sides. With Kendall gone and James on the phone with the girl he liked Carlos would not stop badgering him. "Carlos, if I don't get this down, we'll all be forced to stay in the studio until I do."

"But you just did it right! Now you get to play."

Logan blinked a few times and managed to keep his sarcastic remark to himself. Playing, was what they did when they were nine, not nineteen. No, Carlos was almost twenty-fucking-one. Then again, Carlos wasn't a regular adult. "I did it right once, I need to practice more. You brought the switch, right? Go play on that."

"Aw Logan, come on! We never play foosball anymore!" Carlos put a hand to Logan's chest and started pushing him out the door. 

"Carlos, we played foosball yesterday. And stop that." Logan swatted at Carlos' hand until he let go, but he almost wished he hadn't. "CARLOS!"

Carlos cringed when he saw the hand-sized jelly stain on the front of Logan's shirt. "Oops?"

"Dude, I didn't bring another shirt!"

"That's just bad planning, Loginator, you know you often need clean clothes around me."

That was some ironclad logic even Logan couldn’t get around. "Just go get me some wipes so I can clean it off?" Logan sighed. 

"Sure! Where do I find those?"

Logan grabbed Carlos' wrist after making sure that wasn't covered in jelly too and pulled him along to the supply closet down the hall. Logan was not be surprised Carlos had never been in there for cleaning supplies, but he was a little bit that he never ended up there after all his adventures in the vents. 

Logan shoved his friend into the closet. "Wet wipes are on the left."

Carlos pushed aside the collection of bottles and buckets. "They're not here."

Logan sighed, because while Carlos was looking on the left shelf unit, he'd spotted the new box up top on the shelfs in the back. "They're up there. Neither of us is tall enough to reach them."

"I'll climb up!" Carlos said excitedly. 

"No!" Logan said quickly, imagining all the ways that could go wrong, all ending with the unit on top of Carlos somehow. "Just go get James."

Carlos skipped away and Logan stared at the box two feet above his head. If he had just been a couple inches taller, this wouldn’t have been such a nuisance. Why did everything have to come down to height lately?

Logan stuck his head out the door when it had been five minutes. It did not take that long to get James off his phone call and Logan realised Carlos must have been distracted somewhere along the way. 

Thoroughly annoyed Logan turned back to the shelf unit and resolved to climb up himself. "Stupid Carlos," Logan muttered when he grabbed one of the buckets and turned it upside down. Even then he would still need to place his foot halfway up the shelf unit. Logan prayed it was attached to the wall.

"Why is Carlos stupid?"

Logan jumped. Kendall was leaning against the doorframe, sipping on his pink smoothie.   
Kendall laughed when he saw the front of Logan's shirt. "I see, never mind."

"Carlos was supposed to get James so I could get the wipes."

"Yeah, that's not happening. Carlos found James eating one of his sandwiches, they're fighting in the lobby."

Logan raised an eyebrow. "I would get mad, but what's the point?"

"There is none, my friend. I think we need to learn to live with ridiculous friends."

"You'd think we'd gotten used to it after sixteen years."

"There is no such thing as 'getting used to Carlos'." 

Logan laughed, then pointed at the box. "Could you?"

"Sure."

Kendall took his hand and pulled Logan off the bucket, handing him the smoothie. Logan was just a little bit disappointed that Kendall chose not to press him up against the shelves, but Logan quickly shook the thought. That bucket wasn't sturdy enough to have the both of them stand on it. And Logan didn’t even know what there was between them. Yet. 

Kendall pulled out wipes and jumped off the bucket. "Now, show me the damage."  
Logan pulled the shirt away from his body to assess the stain. "It's bad."

"I thought you'd be smart enough to avoid Carlos when he is eating sandwiches." Kendall pulled out a few wipes and managed to get the clumps of raspberry jelly off. "Man, he got you good."

"Carlos is unpredictable and volatile, I had no chance to get away."

"We might need to start wearing plastic vests around him, the kind that just wipe off."

"Bibs?" Logan asked. 

Kendall laughed. "That could work too."

"He'll just go for our heads instead."

"Helmets then." Kendall put a hand on Logan's shoulder to steady him as he started rubbing more vigorously.

"Gustavo will kill us if we all start wearing helmets to photo shoots," Logan told him.

"Also we'll never get James to wear a helmet regularly, with the hair and all."

"We might just need to resign ourselves to a life filled with jelly stains."

"You'd think we were living with a six-year-old." Kendall pulled out a third wipe, but the big red stain wasn't any less noticeable yet.

"Do you realise once your mom moves out, we'll feel like that all the time? We'll be the people cleaning after Carlos."

"I did think about that," Kendall agreed, then pulled out the next wipe. "Damn, you'd think that jelly contained some permanent clothes dye."

"The shirt might be a lost cause," Logan sighed. 

"Probably. And as for Carlos’ messes; we make good money, we'll get a cleaner."

"Then Carlos will never learn to clean up after himself."

Kendall laughed. "Logie, teaching Carlos that is just as much of a lost cause as your shirt."

Logan took another look at his shirt. "Screw it, I'll throw it out tonight."

"You didn't bring another?"

"No."

Kendall smirked. "Rookie mistake."

Logan rolled his eyes. "I know, Carlos told me the same thing."

"Don't worry, you're still cute."

Logan stared up into green eyes, at a loss for words. Kendall was regarding him calmly, completely comfortable and confident expressing something that had previously been unspoken. 

Kendall smiled at him and Logan realised he'd been staring far too long. "Thank you?" He answered quietly. 

Kendall hummed in acknowledgement and brought a hand up to trail his fingers through Logan's hair. Logan closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, because as confusing as these new feelings were to deal with, it made sense when Kendall touched him. 

Soft fingers trailed down behind his ear and along Logan's neck, sending shivers down his spine. Logan opened his eyes when Kendall took another step closer and their knees brushed together. His breath quickened and Logan felt his legs weaken. His body's reaction scared Logan, he'd never been this affected by another person before. Logan tried to remind himself that this was Kendall, who he trusted wholeheartedly, but somehow that just made his heart beat even faster. 

Logan pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as he gazed into Kendall's eyes, trying to discern what this was to him. Because along with the uncertainty regarding Logan's own feelings, another thought had presented itself over the last couple of days. What if this was just physical attraction for Kendall?

Kendall held his eyes when he cupped Logan's neck and ran his thumb along his jaw. "What are we doing?" Logan whispered before he could overthink it. 

"I've no clue," Kendall admitted just as quietly, his eyes racking over Logan's face. "I just know that I like touching you."

"Oh," Logan breathed. 

Kendall studied him for a moment and for the first time since this started Logan detected the tiniest bit of doubt. "Unless you don't want me to," Kendall murmured and started to pull his hand back. 

On a reflex Logan's hand closed around Kendall's wrist to hold it in place. Even while feeling as doubtful as Logan still did, he knew he didn't want Kendall to stop touching him.  
Kendall smiled widely and Logan felt his cheeks flush, but he couldn't bring himself to care about it when Kendall was looking at him like he was the only person in the world. Slowly his fingers ran up along Logan's jaw and Kendall tilted his head and Logan stopped breathing when he realised what came next. 

"Kendall! Get him OFF ME."

They both froze in place and Logan came to the startling discovery that the door to the supply closet was open. Kendall stepped back and a second later James ran past, Carlos following right after. Logan only saw him for a split second, but he had the sneaking suspicion his hands were still covered in jelly and he was trying to reach for James' hair.   
Logan looked back at Kendall, who looked annoyed. "We better deal with that," Logan said weakly. 

Kendall laughed. "You mean before we have to deal with James having a meltdown when Carlos gets jelly in his hair?"

"Yeah," Logan said, glad that his attempt at diverting the tension worked. "Though maybe don't follow James into a supply closet to clean him up."

Kendall didn't miss a beat. "Next time I'm in a supply closet, it'll be with you and I won't forget to close the door."

He left to deal with James and Carlos and Logan followed slowly, trying to process Kendall flirting with him.

___________________________________________________________________________________

The next evening Logan found himself in a limo on their way to the opening party of Griffin's night club. This was probably his least favourite thing about being in a popular band; showing up to places just for the publicity. Logan enjoyed performing and gladly would have done so tonight, but just being there for the publicity felt pointless.

Though that was mostly because the club scene wasn't Logan's thing.

Logan spotted the mass of photographers along the red carpet and he wiped his clammy hands on his jeans. His friends enjoyed these events, Logan would suck it up and deal with it for them. Last party Gustavo had sent them to Camille showed up with the cast from her new tv show and he spent most of the night hanging with her, hopefully some familiar people would show up tonight. 

Kendall gave him a gentle nudge and Logan looked up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Logan answered, smiling slightly. 

Kendall's presence was good for his mood too.

"We're here!" James said excitedly. 

The limo slowed down and Logan swallowed nervously before opening the door, the first ten minutes were the worst. Standing on the red carpet and waiting until the numerous photographers from different magazines and online platforms were done taking pictures of them and moved on to the next celebrity. Logan climbed out first and was quickly followed by Kendall, who landed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. James came next and he went ahead, eagerly soaking up the attention and Logan let Carlos pass them too. As far as Logan could see there were no reporters, which meant no impromptu interviews and he was relieved. Just pictures. 

Logan trailed after James and Carlos until it was their turn in front of the backdrop, feeling Kendall closely behind him. Nothing happened between them since the supply closet yesterday. That wasn't surprising; after Kendall got James and Carlos to stop fighting, thankfully without any more jelly related stains, Gustavo had them in dance practice for a few more hours and insisted on going over PR for their upcoming talk show appearances well into the evening. They came back to 2J late that night, tired and starving, and all Logan could think about was his bed. 

Today Gustavo had them recording separately for most of the day and he had stylists ready for them by the time they were done. They had a meal at the studio while waiting around until it was time to leave for the party. Logan tried to study, but his mind kept going back to Kendall. He was retweeting a few photo's fans posted from old concerts and placing an Instagram story of James and Carlos playing foosball rather violently; Kendall managed all of Big Time Rush’s social media. Kendall had been dressed in skinny jeans and a white dotted dress shirt and Logan enjoyed the semi-casual look on him a lot. He was also currently wearing patent leathers, but Logan knew better than to expect Kendall to actually wear those to the party. Logan had spotted his Vans in his bag earlier. 

Logan enjoyed being around Kendall when he was relaxed. A long time ago Logan wondered why Kendall seemed to have such a big influence on not just his closest friends, but almost everyone he came in contact with. Kendall was friendly and attentive and calm, and it was an aura he was somehow able to project to those around him. Logan never figured out how, but he settled on Kendall being born with insane charisma. 

And he was handsome, that helped too.

Their turn on the carpet came and Logan followed an eager James. His enthusiasm was enough for Logan to smile too. Thankfully, the whole ordeal was over in a few minutes and Logan relaxed when they stepped into the club. To him it looked like most of the other clubs they went to; high ceiling, big room, bars on either side and a stage in the middle, but James and Carlos were obviously excited. "I'm gonna get drinks!" Carlos announced. 

"No alcohol!" Logan shouted after him, but he doubted if Carlos heard him. Or wanted to hear him. 

"Relax, Logan," James told him. 

"Gustavo said no alcohol," Logan reminded him. 

"He's almost twenty-one."

"Yeah, almost," He emphasised. 

Kendall placed an arm around Logan's shoulders. "One drink won't hurt," He soothed. "And I'll make sure it's actually one this time. Maybe two."

Logan shook his head, but decided to let it go. All of his friends were at least a school year ahead of him in age and Carlos was only two months away from turning twenty-one. Also, the legal drinking age didn't seem to mean much when it came to Hollywood parties; no one checked ID's at open bars. 

James followed Carlos to the bar and Logan was left alone with Kendall. That shouldn't be awkward, if it wasn't for his memories of the supply closet that kept flooding his mind. Kendall's arm around his shoulders also wasn't helping with that. 

Maybe alcohol wasn't a bad idea.

"You look good tonight."

Logan glanced up at Kendal. "What?"

Kendall just smiled and pushed him towards the booths along the back. "Let's go find a table," Kendall told him, leaving Logan no room to question him further. 

They found a booth quickly and Carlos and James came back with drinks, settling across from them. Logan took his coke from Carlos and brought it up to his nose to smell first. He didn't miss James' eyeroll. 

They arrived at the club relatively early. Dak Zevon wouldn't perform for another two hours. They talked and pointed out acquaintances and various celebrities and Logan had a surprisingly good time. "Is that Nicole Scherzinger?" Carlos asked.

"You still want to marry her, James? This is your chance," Kendall joked, grinning when Carlos laughed. 

"No."

Logan raised an eyebrow at James' lack of a better comeback. "The last time you couldn't get a word out, but I'm sure she doesn't remember that. And you're a much bigger deal now."

"I'm not looking to date."

"Since when?" Kendall asked sceptically. 

"Oh, oh! Is it because of Lucy?" Carlos asked, drawing out her name.   
Carlos was apparently right on the money, because James was watching the content of his glass with great interest as he swirled it around and didn't answer them. Kendall and Logan exchanged amused glances, both of them wondering if they should push James for more information. "You talked to her yesterday, right? How is she?" Logan asked. 

"Good."

"How is her tour going?" Kendall asked.

"Good. She sells out all her venues."

"That's awesome. Where is she now?"

"Brussels, moving to Germany tomorrow."

"Did you ask about the TCA's?" Carlos asked excitedly. Logan considered the fact Carlos might know more than he let on; the two of them did share a room. 

"No, I didn't have time for that."

"You were on the phone with her for our whole break yesterday, buddy," Kendall told him, both his crazy eyebrows pulling to his hairline. "That's an hour."

"Not an hour, Carlos attacked me over a sandwich."

"Alright, so 45 minutes. What did you talk about?"

James threw back his drink and stood up without answering them, collecting all their glasses to go get more drinks. Kendall met Logan's eyes and shrugged. James didn't often volunteer talking about what was on his mind when it went deeper than clothes or gossip. His friends' teasing usually helped him loosen up somewhat, but this wasn’t one of those days.

"What's with the TCA's?" Logan asked Carlos.

"Lucy is nominated, so she's invited to attend. James hopes she'll fly out," Carlos told them. 

Logan smiled. "He might actually like her."

"This is a first, guys. Our James falling love."

Carlos and Logan both laughed. "I hope she attends; it'll be fun to see James falling over backwards again to impress her," Carlos added. 

"Yeah," Kendall chuckled. "Though maybe we shouldn't give him such a hard time. This is actually really sweet."

Logan nodded. James returned with drinks and they kept quiet while he passed them around. "What?" He asked when he spotted the smiles on their faces. 

"We think you're cute," Carlos told him.

"That's flattering, dude, but you've a girlfriend."

"Yes, I do," Carlos said happily. "Hey! That has never happened before."

James, Kendall and Logan stared at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Stop that!" Carlos punched James hard in his arm. "I meant that I have a girlfriend and all of you are single."

"You deserve it, mate," Kendall told him. 

"This is awesome," Carlos sighed happily. 

Logan smiled and leaned back in his seat. Carlos watched his friends date for years while he was unsuccessful. It was a stroke of luck that Stephanie moved back to the Palm Woods after filming a thriller on the east coast and they instantly hit it off. Logan couldn't even be mad at Carlos for gloating over his girlfriend, he was entitled to after years of James parading his numerous dates in his face.

Dak Zevon was announced and they made their way to the stage. There already was a large crowd from the last act and they lingered to the side. Carlos found a little platform to stand on and James joined him. Logan wished he'd gotten there first; trying to see anything on the stage at this distance was hopeless. Not that Logan cared for Dak Zevon too much, but he didn't want Gustavo to yell at him for being unsupportive. 

A group of giants then decided to stand a few feet in front of them and Logan scowled. Tall people shouldn't be allowed close to the stage. 

Kendall nudged him. "Let's move."

"It's fine, the guys have a good spot."

He shook his head and started pushing Logan further into the crowd. "I can’t see either and I'm not looking at the backs of their heads for an hour."

Kendall stopped when they were close enough to the stage. The crowd was much thicker and Logan was pushed around by the people nearest to him until Kendall stepped up behind him and elbowed someone in their ribs. "Better?"

“Yeah.” ‘Better’ wasn't a word Logan wouldn't have chosen to describe the mild claustrophobia he experienced, but at least he could see the stage. 

Dak Zevon started his first set and Logan decided he wasn't half bad; he was a good live singer. If the guy hadn't been so damn arrogant Logan might have even liked him. "Wasn't this a song Gustavo wrote for us?" Kendall asked at the third song, leaning in close so Logan heard him over the music. 

He smiled when he recognised it. "None of us liked it enough."

"It works for him."

Logan nodded and was about to answer when Kendall's arm curled around his waist and he pressed close up to Logan's back. Logan froze in his spot and he glanced around nervously, but Carlos and James weren't anywhere near them and no one paid them any attention. He tried to calm himself down, but that proved difficult when Kendall's fingers stroked along his side. 

Logan tried to focus on Dak on stage, knowing Gustavo would have questions about his performance later, but his mind was on overload and he found himself unable to think of anything but Kendall's hand on him. 

Hands, Logan corrected, when Kendall's other hand joined the first and linked on his hip, keeping him firmly to the tall body behind him. 

Logan couldn't think when Kendall was this close to him. 

Kendall was so often close to him these last few weeks.

"Relax, Logan," Kendall said. His breath ghosted over Logan's ear.

Logan desperately want to ask him how the fuck Kendall thought he could relax; this was an extremely irregular situation. "What are you doing?" Logan asked. He was aware he asked a very similar question the day before, but Logan idly hoped Kendall had a clearer answer for him today. 

"Testing something," Kendall answered, stroking with his thumb along Logan's hip. 

"Testing what?"

"Your reaction," Kendall whispered close to his ear. A few of his long fingers ran along the bit of exposed skin just below Logan's shirt. The tingle was back where Kendall touched him and Logan leaned back into him on instinct. The butterflies came back to live and Logan's heartbeat sped up as Kendall continued to caress his skin. Logan's breathing turned uneven and he closed his hand around Kendall's wrist, but Kendall's hands never wandered from their spot. Logan wasn’t sure if he could handle it if they did. Kendall's lips brushed along the sensitive spot behind his ear and Logan quivered and closed his eyes, drowning out his surroundings. 

Apparently, Kendall got what he wanted from Logan, because he pulled down Logan's shirt and linked his hands over his hip again. Logan's brain had shorted out; he had no idea what to make of this until Kendall spoke again, "I like you, Logie."

Logan was wholly freaking out now. 

Kendall left him no space to. "I know you and how you think, so I'll keep my distance and let you think it over. I just thought you should know."

Logan swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. As confused as Logan was about this new information, it helped that Kendall told him he got to think about it. At least Kendall liking him fit with all the other strange things that happened between them.

Kendall pulled away and instead of feeling relieved to have some space, Logan felt a painful twinge close to his heart at the loss of contact. Logan thought he should probably say something to Kendall, but he was completely overwhelmed by the vast amount of new feelings tonight and he couldn't bring himself to. 

Neither of them spoke until Dak finished his performance and they made their way back to James and Carlos. Logan desperately wanted to go home and he was grateful when Kendall agreed. 

Logan wanted to get to his bed and sleep. Later he would attempt to make something of this.


	2. Chapter 2

The next week passed in a blur of recording, dance practice, Logan’s online pre-med courses and more PR meetings and Logan was glad to have Thursday off. The Knights were out, picking up paint samples and shopping furniture for Mrs. Knight and Katie's new apartment -Logan noted that he should really have to call his mother about Mrs. Knight's move soon. James was at the pool to run lines with Camille and Carlos was in his room. Logan heard some suspicious banging from his spot on the couch, but he wanted no part in Carlos' crazy stunts today. 

Logan was making a list. 

Every moment the last week Logan wasn't working, his thoughts went back to Kendall. He had done exactly what he promised in the club and didn't bring up his feelings for him again. Kendall never ignored Logan and acted completely normal around him, but he did stop touching Logan as much as he used to and spent more time outside the apartment. Logan knew that was for his sake, to give him space, but he found the distance Kendall kept unnerving. 

Kendall and Logan spent most of their time together since moving to Los Angeles. He felt strangely empty when he wanted to turn to his friend for whatever reason and Kendall wasn't right there. Logan decided that he needed to talk to Kendall soon so that he would spend time with him again. 

That brought Logan to the problem at hand. Kendall liked him. Like-like, as in more-than-friends liking each other. Since his fight with James, Logan had been trying to figure out what Kendall's deal was, but last week at the club Kendall straight up told him what his deal was. And thus, the new problem wasn't attempting to make something of Kendall's strange behaviour, but trying to figure out what Logan felt for Kendall. And more importantly, what Logan would do with that information.

Logan decided to go about it logically. He could solve any problem by making a clear synopsis. He filled whole notebooks with lists and summaries concerning various problems. Be it math, music, or Latin, once Logan saw his thoughts neatly displayed on paper he always knew how to proceed. Logan naively thought figuring out what he felt for Kendall would be no different.

And so he set to work; dividing the paper in two, writing ‘yay’ and ‘nay’ on each side. The nay side filled up quickly. Logan had concerns about what a potential relationship would do to the band and their friendship with James and Carlos. He was also positive his parents would hate for their only son to be in a relationship with another guy. Logan was afraid of what would happen to their friendship if a romantic relationship between them didn't work out. He considered his friendship with Kendall to be invaluable; the few times they'd fought Logan had been miserable and he didn't even want to think of what it would do to him to lose Kendall.

Logan stared at his notebook when he finished writing. He knew himself well enough to admit he could be a bit pessimistic, but he considered all the cons on the paper in front of him to be valid. The one exception being his parents; Logan knew his relationship with them was strained regardless of his feelings for Kendall. Logan never fit their perception of the perfect son, no matter how hard he tried. 

His eyes moved to the 'yay' side and Logan sighed, trying to think of positive sides to a relationship with Kendall. Logan knew it would be easy. Their friendship already brought them halfway, adding the romantic, physical stuff would be easy. Kendall was insanely attractive -Logan stopped pushing those thoughts away finally- and he was only human, he imagined that kissing him would be awesome and refused to think beyond that.

But to him, his ‘yays’ didn't weigh up to all the ‘nays’. 

For some inexplicable reason, Logan hated that. 

He pulled the page out of his notebook and ripped it into tiny little pieces when Carlos walked into the living room, helmet under his arm, and dressed in a judogi. That explained the strange banging at least. Logan observed his friend as he dumped corn dogs in an oven dish and set the timer. Mrs. Knight taught him how to prepare frozen fish sticks and corndogs last week and Logan was glad to find his friend wouldn't starve if no one was around to feed him. 

Though Carlos now had a girlfriend to take care or that. 

Logan thought he might actually have gone insane when the thought popped into his head, but crazy situations asked for crazy reinforcement. He just happened to be friends with the craziest of them. 

"Hey, Carlos?" He asked. 

"Yes?"

"Do you have a minute?"

"I have..." Carlos paused to look at the oven. "Twenty minutes!" He announced happily.

Carlos was the only one of his friends currently in a relationship and Logan figured he might provide some answers. 

"Okay, cool. I'm reading this book-"

"I'm not letting you quiz me again!"

"I promise I won't quiz you," Logan told him. "I actually think you can help me."

"Sure!" Carlos said excitedly. Logan thought it was cute; Carlos was rarely asked for help because he usually caused whatever mess they were in, but he really appreciated it when his friends did.

"It's a book on relationships and how people decide they want to be in one."

"I'm in a relationship," Carlos said happily.

"Yes, which is why I could use your help."

"Okay, shoot."

Logan tried to gather his thoughts. He wanted to know why Carlos wanted to be Stephanie, but in order to get a coherent answer from him, he would need to formulate his questions carefully. "How did you know you liked Stephanie?"

"That's easy. She's pretty, she's funny, she's sweet, we laugh all the time and she likes corn dogs," Carlos summed up, then added, "And she's a great kisser, sometimes we don't even get to sex-"

"Okay, thanks!" That was a little more than Logan wanted to know about Carlos' relationship with Stephanie. "So you fell for each other pretty easily, right?"

"Yes," Carlos agreed. "I told James I liked her and for once he didn't steal the girl. He gave me a rose and told me to go give it to her and tell her she is beautiful. Steph told me I was adorable. Then it just happened."

Logan had actually never heard that story and he smiled. Carlos could be so damn endearing. And he was happy to learn James was still chivalrous when it came to his friends' feelings for a girl and helped them instead of swooping in. Logan had been very thankful for that when James assisted him in asking Camille out for the dance years ago. "The book also mentioned that it might be more difficult to be in a relationship with someone closer to you."

"Like a friend?"

"Or a colleague," Logan added hastily, hoping to keep his theoretical situation further away from the actual one. "Would you have felt differently if you'd known her in another way first?"

Carlos frowned. "I don't know, I guess it would be a little harder if I had to work with her also..."

"Would you be worried that if it didn't work out, you'd still have to see her?"

"Why wouldn't it work out?" He asked.

"Why it wouldn't work isn't really important," Logan told him. "More how you'd feel if you still had to see her."

Carlos thought about that for a while and Logan felt bad when he started to fidget like he did when he had to solve a complicated math problem. "Logan, in this situation you really like the person, right? Like-like. As the beginning of falling in love?"

"Yes," Logan answered. 

"Why would a person worry about their relationship not working out when they like-like someone? You don't start a relationship thinking it won't work out." 

"I imagine they're worried it will be difficult to keep their romantic relationship separate from their work relationship."

"I think these people are stupid," Carlos stated. 

Logan blinked a few times, completely taken aback. Essentially, Carlos was calling him stupid. "How come?"

"Because Stephanie makes me so happy and I wouldn't want to miss that for the world. Steph understands things about me even you guys don’t know. Sometimes even I don’t.” Carlos nodded thoughtfully. “Even if Steph would've been my friend or my colleague, I would never want to not to be in love with her."

Logan stared at Carlos, wondering if his friend realised what he'd just said. "Carlos, are you in love with Stephanie?" He asked carefully, watching him closely. 

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you just said so, be it with a double negative."

"Oh. I guess."

"Have you told her yet?"

"No." Carlos perked up. "Should I?"

Logan laughed. "I think she'd like to hear it."

"Okay!" Carlos got up and skipped to the door, halting just outside it. "You're good, right? Or do you need more help?"

"You were a great help, bud."

"Awesome. Bye!"

Logan stared at the door and wondered how he missed how much Carlos cared for Stephanie. He admitted mournfully that he might just have been a little too preoccupied with his own new, confusing romantic interest to notice. 

Before Carlos came to his own startling discovery of love, he'd actually said some things Logan needed to think about. The most important being that Logan had forgotten to consider what would make him happy. In his desire to remain clear-headed and logical, Logan had completely ignored how Kendall made him feel. 

Logan got up from the couch and turned off the oven with Carlos' half baked corn dogs -he would reheat them for Carlos later- and retreated to his bedroom. Logan had a lot to think about.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Hi, mom."

"Logan, I wasn't expecting your call."

Logan called his parents the first Monday of every month. Usually, just his mom picked up, his father would be at his office. Logan did not remember the last time he talked to him. "I know, I'm sorry. I need to discuss some things with you though."

"Alright, proceed. I'm at the club though, so just a couple of minutes."

"Mrs. Knight and Katie are moving out of the apartment."

"I see. You’ll be coming home."

"No... I'm staying here with the guys."

His mother sighed impatiently. "Dear, when is this band thing going to be over?"

"Uh. When we decide it's not fun anymore?"

"You’ve had your fun. I thought you wanted to make something of yourself?"

Logan frowned; this wasn't the first time they had this exact conversation. "I am."

"No, dear, you're in a boyband."

"Alright, mom. I just wanted to tell you Mrs. Knight is moving out. And I'm staying in LA."

"Your father got you a place at Carleton."

Logan closed his eyes because had she said this four year ago, he would've been ecstatic. It had been his dream to go to his father's alma mater, the college at which he now taught. "I got into UCLA."

"Hortense, don't be silly," Joanna told him, exasperated. 

"I'm not even sure if I'm going yet."

"Of course you're not. When you go to college it will be here, so I can use my network to get you ahead. You already have a very late start at college, so-"

"Stop," Logan snapped. "I'm not going to Carleton. I don't need you to buy me into places when I got into a great school on my own. I love it here; I'm not leaving my friends and if I decide to go to college it'll be UCLA."

"I'm not letting you use your college fund to a second-rate state school."

The threat was completely idle. Big Time Rush was worth a couple million at this point and UCLA was an amazing college for pre-med. Logan couldn't phantom how his mother could be so ignorant. "Fine."

"Hortense, you don't know what you're doing. Your father and I have such great plans for you. Do you remember Dr. Laurent? He's the head surgeon at Abbott Northwestern. He's already agreed to letting you be a resident there if you make an honest woman out of his daughter."

Logan was at a complete loss of words. "You arranged a marriage?"

"No, no. You'll be courting this girl first, of course. She's lovely and I'm sure if you ask her nicely, she'll get her nose done."

"I'm not dating some girl you picked out because it will be good for your reputation. And, again, I'm not coming back to Minnesota," Logan told her firmly. 

"You need this match if you ever want to redeem yourself in our community."

"I don't give a fuck about your precious society!" Logan snapped. "I'm also pretty sure I'm gay."

"How dare you," Joanna whispered into the phone. "This is your last chance, Hortense. Leave the idiotic boyband and come back to Minneapolis."

Logan ended the call. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall, trying very hard not to cry. If he was honest with himself, he knew his mother would give him this ultimatum. Logan had always known exactly how that would end. His parents cutting him off had always been a matter of when, not if. 

The tears trailed down his cheeks and Logan angrily wiped them off. Crying was futile, especially over people who had never appreciated him for who he was, let alone loved him. His mother wanted a son she could parade around her country club like a show dog and his father... Logan had no idea what his father wanted. The man never appeared to care about anything. 

"Hey, Logan. Have you-" Kendall stopped talking when his eyes landed on Logan's face. Logan didn't bother to hide the fact he cried, because Kendall saw straight through him. "What's wrong?" He asked worriedly.

"I think my mother just disowned me."

"Jesus," Kendall whispered. He closed the door and sat next to Logan on his bed. "What happened?"

"I called to tell her your mom is moving out, but apparently she thought I would come back home."

Kendall frowned. "Why all of a sudden? You've been here for years."

Logan shook his head. “She never wanted me to come here, I believe the only reason I am is Brooke Diamond.”

“Huh?”

“She wanted James’ dream to come true and since you wouldn’t go unless all of us came along, his mom talked my mom into it. Though, I think the only reason she gave in was so my mom didn’t piss off the most influential woman in her network.”

“Damn. I had no idea.”

“For a year or so, every conversation we’ve had was about when I would return to Minnesota. She thought that since your mom is moving out I finally would.”

“What’s in Minnesota that you can’t do here?”

"She wants me to go to my father's college and apparently pulled a lot of strings to get me ahead. I told her if I decided to go to college it would be here. I don't want to leave you guys."

Kendall scooted over and pulled Logan close to his side, his arm tight around Logan's shoulders. 

"Mom also told me that if I went to UCLA, I wouldn't get my college fund," Logan continued. 

Kendall snorted. "I hope you told her that's stupid." 

Logan smiled a bit, leaning further into Kendall’s side. "I know, but she didn't give me a chance to. She went on to tell me all about this girl she arranged for me to date."

"What the hell?!"

Logan nodded. "That's when I told her to fuck off."

Kendall smirked and squeezed in his shoulders. "Good for you."

"I told her I was gay."

"Are you?" Kendall asked curiously. 

"Pretty sure."

Kendall nodded. "Well, obviously I don't give a shit, but I’m guessing your mom did?"

"She gave me an ultimatum and I hung up the phone."

Kendall sighed and pulled Logan to him tighter. Logan closed his eyes and put his head on Kendall’s shoulder, unsuccessfully trying to swallow the lump in his throat. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was bound to happen.”

Kendall nodded, knowing all about Logan’s mother and her medieval mindset. "I'm proud of you."

Logan looked up in surprise and Kendall smiled softly. "This situation sucks and I really wish they were better people, but you stood up for yourself when you needed to. You haven’t always been capable of doing that.”

Logan knew that was true. Before coming to LA, he would never have dared to stand up to her and he was sure had he still been in Minnesota, Logan would have done everything she just told him. But being in LA and living with his best friends taught Logan what was truly important to him. He still wanted to study medicine and be a doctor, but not without his friends by his side. Logan wanted to see Big Time Rush through to the end at any cost.

That was not to say this didn't fucking suck.

"Ah, Logie," Kendall murmured softly when new tears trailed down his cheeks. Kendall laid back and hugged Logan close, drawing soft patterns on his back. "They don’t deserve you.”

Logan stopped fighting the tears and cried silently until he had nothing left. Kendall held him close and rubbed his back, his other hand folded tightly over Logan's on his chest. Soon enough Logan calmed down, listening to Kendall's slow breathing and the steady beat of his heart. "I knew it would come down to this at some point, I don't know why I care so much," Logan whispered. 

"Because your parents are supposed to love you and support you."

Logan pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and didn't answer. Kendall trailed his hand up along Logan's shoulder until it was in his hair, softly running his nails along Logan's scalp.   
"I'm glad you're here."

"Really?" Logan whispered. 

Kendall looked down and met his eyes, shaking his head. "Logan..." He sighed, seeming to reconsider what he wanted to say. "I’ve already told you how I feel, but regardless of that... You belong here, with us. We'll be your family."

Logan didn't know how to answer him, because Kendall telling him that was what he wanted most in his life, but it scared him too. Would Kendall still say that if Logan rejected him? Or if they tried and it didn't work out? Logan had spent that entire afternoon racking his brain trying to come up with the answer. "What if I don't feel the same?" Logan asked eventually, not wanting to pass up the opportunity. 

"Then you'll tell me and you give me a little while to get over it, but we'll always be friends," Kendall answered. His fingers stroked softly behind his ear and Logan felt the tingle all the way to his chest. "I'm not too worried about it though."

"Why?" Logan questioned, because he was struggling with that part a lot. 

Kendall smiled at him and shook his head. "I'll tell you later."

Logan frowned, severely unsatisfied with that answer and Kendall's smile widened. "Let it go, Logie. I promise I worked it all out."

"That does not make me any less worried, your plans rarely work as they were intended."

Logan rolled his eyes when Kendall started laughing and propped himself up on his elbow to glare at him. Kendall's eyes were light and Logan wondered if he should push for an answer, until Kendall knocked his elbow from under him and Logan's head landed back on his chest. "You're cute," Kendall murmured, linking his hands on Logan's waist. 

Logan kept quiet and closed his eyes. Just being near Kendall made him feel better and if what he said was true, Logan's arguments for not getting into a relationship with one of his best friends didn't hold up. Logan didn't want to jeopardise their friendship and he didn't think Kendall would either unless he was very sure of himself. 

Kendall was always sure of himself. 

Kendall was warm and comfortable to lie on and Logan felt cosy curled up together. He'd missed Kendall and Logan realised that he hadn't seen much of him at all over the last week. Kendall and Logan always spent a lot of time together, but he never realised how much until Kendall distanced himself to allow Logan space to think. 

It hit Logan that he was happiest when he was with Kendall. 

Kendall was patient and thoughtful. He put up with all of Logan's rambling about science, even when he didn't understand a single thing. They laughed a lot and knew exactly what the other thought, when James or Carlos got up to stupid shit a shared glance was enough to make them crack up. And Kendall understood him. Kendall knew how overwhelmed he could get from all the things that went on his head and he knew to let him be. 

His approach to telling Logan about his feelings had been exceptionally considerate and Logan was probably the least stressed about a revelation of this magnitude he could possibly be. Kendall knew him.

The warm feeling in his chest was back and Logan smiled to himself. Carlos said exactly that earlier and Logan decided to give his friend a whole bouquet of corn dogs when he got the chance.   
Kendall rubbed his side and Logan decided just before he drifted off to sleep that if this was how he felt just being near Kendall, he couldn't wait to find out what it was like to kiss him. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Logan was lounging on the couch in the living room, enjoying the rare moment he was completely alone in the apartment with Stephen Hawking's ‘The Theory of Everything’. Gustavo let Logan go first, which never happened. The other guys weren't due home for a few more hours. 

This morning when he woke up Kendall was back in his own bed and Logan was just a little bit wistful. He was pretty positive he liked Kendall back after his talk to Carlos the day before and Kendall's reaction to his mother’s news confirmed it. He'd hoped Kendall would still be next to him when he woke so they could talk, but Logan wasn't surprised Kendall decided to be a gentleman. 

So Logan resolved to waiting in the apartment until Kendall came back. He was nervous as much as he was excited, which was silly, because nothing could go wrong. Kendall had already told him he liked him and since yesterday evening, Logan wanted nothing more than to kiss Kendall. 

He closed his book and rested his head back against the couch. Logan still wasn't sure how this would work between them, but he trusted Kendall and he decided for once not to worry too much and just let it happen. This was new and foreign and thrilling. Thinking about Kendall was a great distraction from the twinge of pain he felt whenever his parents came to mind. 

Logan decided it was stupid to feel sad about it. He rarely talked to his parents anyway and the phone call yesterday had just confirmed what he already knew; they didn't approve of him and his choices. Which was fine, not a whole lot would change. Logan was extremely lucky, he was living with the best friends in the world, Mrs. Knight and Katie, who were more of a family to him than his parents ever were, and he had great plans for his future here in California. 

And Kendall was here.

The butterflies in his stomach came back to life and Logan felt his face grow hot despite being alone in the room. Fuck, he really wanted this to happen.

Which was why Logan was surprised with his reaction when Kendall walked through the door and he complete tensed up. 

"Hey," Kendall said, smiling. 

"Hi," Logan managed to say after swallowing the lump in his throat.

"The guys are downstairs. Stephanie was waiting in the lobby for Carlos and James had a phone call, I think Lucy again."

Logan nodded, unable to form any words.

Kendall watched him for a moment. "You okay?" He asked eventually. "After yesterday and all."

Logan nodded.

"You know you can talk to me if you need to, right?"

He nodded again and cursed himself for being such a huge coward. 

"Okay. Good." Kendall looked down at the floor and Logan saw his face fall.

Logan tried to come up with something, anything, because he really didn't want Kendall to leave. Spending a week without Kendall by his side sucked big time and Logan finally knew what he wanted, what was he so afraid of?

"I'm gonna hang in our room."

Logan took a deep breath as Kendall started walking away. "Kendall?" He asked, his voice shaking slightly.

He turned and Logan's heart was back in his throat. "Yeah?"

"You wanna hang out?"

Kendall broke into a smile, “Yes.” Logan was sure his face was beet red, but he couldn't bring himself to care because Kendall made his way over to the couch and sat down next to him. Logan pressed his hand over his stomach, as if that would calm his butterflies. "What are we doing?" He asked.

Logan shrugged. "Mario?"

Kendall smirked. "That's bold, Logie."

"Hey! I beat you."

"You did once, three years ago, and only because James spilled pie in my lap and distracted me."

"You only win because you have the platinum controller, which I know have dibs on."

"Oh, you're on."

Kendall got up to start the game and threw him the platinum controller, which Logan barely caught. He didn't care, they were hanging out again and Logan was giddy with excitement.

Kendall noticed because he cocked his head and watched Logan curiously. "Sup?" He asked. 

"Nothing," Logan answered. 

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as he sat next to Logan on the couch. Kendall was suddenly very close to him and for a moment Logan couldn't breathe. "You pick the world," Kendall told him. 

Logan did and soon enough they were in the battle of their life. Logan didn't expect Kendall to let him win, but Kendall wasn't giving him any slack at all and he lost the first round with only one of five races to his name. "Two out of three?" Kendall proposed. 

Logan started another world. "Yes."

Kendall grinned and Logan was determined to win this time. He might not be wired as competitively as Kendall was, but he sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight. Another difference between him and Kendall was their willingness to cheat. Logan learned a long time ago that if you weren't the biggest player on the ice, the players on the other team tend to check you into the boards more often than not. Logan was quickly fed up with that behaviour and learned to cheat his way out. 

Logan wasn't above cheating a friend. 

So when Logan pulled up his legs to cross them and his knee landed on Kendall's thigh, he was extremely pleased to see Kendall's little car promptly slip off a bridge. Logan finished first in the second of five races and used his new trick in the rest of the races, leaning little bits into Kendall until he faltered. He won their second-round easily.

If Kendall noticed he didn't say anything and Logan let him pick the third world. "Since you lost."

Kendall laughed. "You just focus on your own game."

"Oh, I do."

The next race started and Logan was quickly left behind after driving over a banana peel, so when Kendall was driving Bowser through the half-pipe Logan brushed his arm along Kendall's. The tingle that coursed through his skin wasn't any less than before, but Logan was prepared, and he watched Bowser fly off the screen with great satisfaction. 

Logan cheered when he finished first and turned to Kendall with a grin. Kendall was watching him with an amused sort suspicion. "Just start the next round, Logie."

Once again, Kendall used clever in-game tricks to get ahead and Logan resorted to his cheat. However, just when Logan wanted to lean in to brush his shoulder Kendall leaned away from him and Logan lost his balance, landing with his upper body in Kendall's lap. "You little cheat," Kendall laughed, snatching the controller out of Logan's hand. 

"I would never!" Logan pushed himself up and tried to make a grab for his controller. 

"No, you're even worse, exploiting my weakness."

"What weakness?" Logan asked innocently. 

Kendall smirked. "You'd almost get away with it," He told Logan. "But you know the rules: you cheat, you lose the platinum controller."

"Never," Logan told him, trying to reach over Kendall. 

Kendall easily got out from under Logan and stood up, holding the controller above his head. Logan glared at Kendall and got up too, trying to reach for the controller. "No fair."

"Admit you cheated, and I'll consider giving it back."

"Never!"

Kendall laughed when Logan jumped up, but his hand barely reached to Kendall's elbow. Logan stood on the couch to make up for the distance, but instead of holding him off Kendall curled an arm around his middle and pulled him close. Logan quickly wrapped his arms around Kendall's neck so he wouldn't fall and Kendall took the opportunity to start tickling Logan. 

"S-stop," Logan giggled. 

"Admit you cheated, Logie."

"Kendall, pl-please!"

"Oh, begging is a nice touch."

Logan tried to hook one of Kendall's legs, but failed miserably and instead kicked him hard enough to make his legs buckle. They fell next to each other on the couch and Kendall started laughing again. "Fuck."

"Sorry. You okay?"

Kendall looked down at him and Logan blushed when Kendall's arm tightened around his waist. "I'm great," Kendall answered quietly. 

This was the moment Logan hoped for earlier, it was a perfect opportunity to tell Kendall. They were already close and if Logan just leaned in-

Kendall's phone rang and Logan cast his eyes downward, trying to contain his disappoint. Logan sat up and was about to slide off the couch to leave Kendall to his phone call, when Kendall's hand curled in the back of his shirt and yanked him back. Logan landed with his head on Kendall's bicep and he smiled when Kendall's arm curled around his waist. "...it's fine, mom. I'll order in tonight."

Logan couldn't hear exactly what was side on the other side, but it sounded like Mrs. Knight protesting.

"You know it's gonna happen, but I'll make sure we'll order healthy foods sometimes too." 

Mrs. Knight started on rant and knowing that could take a while Logan pulled out his own phone, scrolling through his socials. 

"Mom, we'll be fine. I promise we'll eat well, Logan will make sure of that. And you know how James complains about his skin when he eats too many carbs. It's really just Carlos you need to worry about, I can only do so much to keep him off corn dogs."

They talked for a few more minutes before Kendall hung up and dropped the phone on his chest. "It's like she thinks we're three-year-olds at times," Kendall sighed. 

"She means well."

"I know. And I appreciate it. But, I also can't wait until she moves out."

"Just two weeks ago you were whining you didn't want her to go."

"Hey! What's with you today, quit tantalising me."

“Oh, big word!”

Kendall tickled his side. “I suddenly have a lot more sympathy for James when he puts your stuff high up.”

Logan laughed and perked up when Kendall's phoned buzzed again. "You're popular today."

"It's just TikTok," Kendall said after checking the messages. 

"What is TikTok?"

"What rock have you been under?"

Logan poked Kendall's ribs with his elbow. "This is where the teasing come from, you provoke me."

Kendall chuckled and opened the app. "TikTok's are little sketches and dances people post. One person starts a trend and then a bunch of them copy it. I was trying to see if it was worth making an account for Big Time Rush, but being popular on TikTok is a pretty big time commitment."

"How are a million people copying the one dance interesting?"

"Here." Kendall handed him his phone. "I don't think it's something for us, but it's fun to kill some time with."

Logan and Kendall spent the next half hour scrolling through various accounts. "Please don't make me do this," Logan laughed as another dance popped up. 

"I won't," Kendall agreed. "This is a good song though."

"’Let's do it again’?" Logan questioned after checking the little box below.

Kendall hummed and took his phone back, scrolling through Spotify until he found the song and he played it. 

"I can't believe that's in your favourites."

"Just so you know, I listened to this song long before it was on TikTok."

"Sure," Logan laughed. 

Kendall stood up and tried to the beginning of the dance they just saw. "Nice to nice to know ya let’s do it again," Kendall sang and Logan laughed at his exaggerated accent. "How we did it on a one-night stand."

Kendall abandoned the official choreography and was dancing ridiculously around the living room, making Logan crack up. His arms were flailing over his head, but Kendall's hips were surprisingly loose, and he matched the beat perfectly. He also managed to perfectly sing along to the rap part of the song, which usually wasn't his strong suit. Logan enjoyed watching Kendall goof off. 

That was until Kendall took his hands and pulled him off the couch, linking their fingers on one hand and placing the other on the small of Logan's back. Kendall pressed their hips together and continued dancing, leaving absolutely no room for Logan to feel embarrassed. Logan decided that it was stupid to; Kendall's was clearly enjoying himself and Logan was pressed up close to the guy he had feelings for. Logan found it easy to dance with Kendall and for once he managed to let go. 

Kendall smiled wide when their eyes met and the butterflies in Logan's stomach went wild, because no longer felt any reservation between them. Kendall clearly wanted this to happen as much as he did and Logan couldn't the stand the idea of waiting any longer. Logan wanted to know what it was like to kiss Kendall, to slide his arms around his neck and stand on the tips of his toes to brush their lips together. 

But there was no hurry because the song wasn't even halfway over, and Kendall let go of his body to attempt a silly twirl under their joined arms. Logan giggled and then suddenly it was him who was spun around. Kendall caught him easily when the chorus started again. "Nice to nice to know ya let's do it again," Kendall sang, his eyes holding Logan's captive while still moving in time with the music. "How we did it on a one-night stand. I really wanna be more than your friend."

And despite it being a lyric in a song, Logan knew Kendall meant every word. It was the first time either of them had actually spoken the words and Logan really wanted to kiss Kendall now and preferably, not stop doing it for a few hours. Kendall appeared to be thinking the same thing and his eyes flickered to Logan's lips for a moment. Logan nodded just a little in silent agreement and Kendall's arm tightened around his waist when he leaned in-

The doorknob wiggled, followed by keys jingling outside the door, making them pause. They were both already halfway leaned into what was supposed to be an insanely romantic first kiss. For a moment, Logan and Kendall stared at each other, trying to decide if it was worth going through with it, despite who was outside the door now. Kendall sighed and straightened up and Logan felt ready to cry.

Kendall’s jaw set in annoyance and he squeezed Logan’s hand. “This is happening," He murmured, determination very clear in his eyes, he let go of Logan just before the door opened. 

Carlos busted into the room, cradling his helmet to his chest. "Leave me alone!" He yelled, throwing the door back into James’ face. 

"Dude, I'm so sorry, you know I didn't mean to."

Logan had the sinking feeling this wasn't a regular fight. Carlos was shaking in anger and James seemed to feel terribly guilty. 

"You broke my helmet!"

Logan shared a quick look with Kendall and saw the same shock he felt on his face. Kendall stepped between Carlos and James to get ahead of any physical fighting and Logan went over to Carlos to assess the damage. He was just a little bit surprised when Carlos willingly handed his helmet off. Logan had been hopeful that it was something superglue and a steady hand could fix, but James had broken off the left side. Logan wondered how the hell he'd managed that. 

Logan met Carlos' hopeful eyes and tried to find a way to break it to him gently that this wasn't something he could fix. "I'm sorry, Carlitos," He settled on. 

"I really, really am sorry too," James added. "How can I fix this?"

Carlos' head snapped up and he glared at James. "Oh, I don't know. Try not to break my stuff?"

"I'll get you a new one!"

Carlos shook his head. "How the hell does that help me now?"

"You could hit me?"

"Nobody is hitting anybody," Kendall said when James tried to get closer and put a hand on his chest to hold him off. Carlos actually looked murderous and Logan decided that was a good call. 

"Logan, are you sure you can't you fix it?"

Logan shook his head. "Both the inner and outer shells are broken, even if I managed to glue it back together it'll break upon the next impact."

James flinched and Logan felt somewhat bad for his friend, he had a tendency to overreact and forgot how strong he was. Logan didn't know what Carlos had done to push him to this, but he was sure James never meant to go this far. On the other hand, the helmet was considered holy, it had its own section in their best friend's codes book, and any threats to Carlos' person that involved the helmet were strictly forbidden since the last time someone broke Carlos' helmet. 

That had actually been Logan's fault. Eleven-year-old Carlos wanted to jump off the roof of James' house into the pool and Logan had insisted that was certain death, even while wearing the helmet. To prove his point Logan had calculated the force of the impact and had then dropped a brick out the window on the second floor. The helmet snapped in two, Logan had been right, and Carlos didn’t speak to him for two weeks. 

But that experience did leave Logan with some valuable information. 

"I know where to get a new one," Logan told Carlos, trying to sound optimistic. "Exact make and model as this one. Maybe amazon will one-day-rush it."

"I guess," Carlos mumbled, taking back the two broken parts. 

"James, go get your credit card," Kendall told him, pushing him in the direction of their rooms. 

Logan pulled out of his phone and found the right store quickly. He nudged Carlos, "Look! They even have some left with the same serial number, it's from the same batch as this one!"

Kendall squeezed Carlos' shoulders. "I'll make James order two."

"James is a jerk."

"Yes, that too," Kendall agreed. "Do they rush it?" He asked Logan. 

Logan added two helmets to his cart. "They do! You also get a free cleaning kit with every order."

"Good deal," Kendall appreciated. 

Their attempts at cheering Carlos up were fruitless though, his shoulders hung and of his usual jittery energy was nothing left. James came back with his card and Logan handed him his phone to put in the information. "Why two?" James questioned. 

"So that we've a back-up next time anything happens to it," Kendall clarified. Logan glanced up when he heard the stark tone of his voice, James was not to object. 

Logan flinched when James did. "That's a little more money than I was hoping-" He stopped talking abruptly at the three matching glares from his friends. 

"I can't stand you," Carlos snapped, then turned away from James. Logan knew that at this point he was more hurt that his best friend would do this to him than the helmet being destroyed. "Will either of you switch rooms with me?"

Logan's eyes snapped up to Kendall's and he read the same hesitation on his face. Logan hoped to continue where they left off earlier when they would retire to their room tonight and Kendall had clearly thought the same thing. Kendall pulled up one corner of his mouth in a weak attempt at an apology. "James and I will switch," Kendall told him. "You should keep your own bed."

Logan’s heart sank. He knew Carlos' grief was more important now, but this had been the second time in an hour someone interrupted a moment with Kendall. 

James gave Logan his phone back after completing the order and Logan glowered at him. If James had just controlled himself, Logan could've been kissing Kendall tonight. No, he could've been kissing Kendall right now. Instead Logan would be sharing a room with James. Stupid, helmet-breaking James, who possessed the worst sense of timing in the history of mankind. 

"I'll go move my stuff," James mumbled and quickly fled the room. 

Kendall slapped Carlos on his back. "How about I order pizza? An extra-large with extra pepperoni for my new roomie?"

"I guess," Carlos mumbled.

"And we can have a little Battle Blast tournament!" Logan added. 

"James can't join."

"We'll banish James to the kitchen table," Kendall agreed. 

"He also can't have any of my pizza."

Logan decided not to mention that none of them ever dared to take Carlos' food anyway. "Sure."

"Do I get the platinum controller?" Carlos asked and Logan spotted a hint of a smile.

"Of course," Kendall told him, pushing Carlos in towards the couch. He looked back of his shoulder at Logan and mouthed 'I'm sorry'. Logan answered with a smile and followed them. 

For now, he would have to do with the promise of more later. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

James didn't come out of the room he now shared with Logan for the rest of the evening and by the time they decided to go to sleep Carlos was almost his old self. He had devoured a whole pizza by himself while Kendall and Logan had shared the other and they had purposely lost multiple rounds of Battle Blast until Carlos started doing victory dances again. The night wasn't half bad, had it not been for the interrupted moment with Kendall. 

Logan told the others goodnight and went into his room. James was still up, sitting on Kendall's bed with his back against the wall and a mountain of magazines next to him. "Hey," Logan muttered.

"Hi."

Logan changed out of his clothes and tried not to think of the fact that had Kendall been in the room, he would've done the undressing and pyjamas wouldn't have come into play at all. He closed the drawer a little too hard and Logan saw James jump from the corner of his eyes. It made him feel a little better. 

He sat on his own bed and grabbed his book, too agitated to go to sleep yet. 

"How is Carlos?"

Logan looked up. James had closed his magazine and was now watching him, expression carefully blank. "Better," Logan told him. "He had pizza and ice cream and won Battle Blast, so he’s almost alright."

James nodded. "Good."

"He's probably the easiest person in the world to cheer up."

"Yeah," James agreed, one corner of his mouth pulled up. 

Logan contemplated going back to his book, but curiosity got the better of him. "What did he do to you that you'd break the helmet?"

James frowned. "I was on the phone with Lucy and she just told me she added fifteen more dates to her Europe tour when Carlos got in my face. He was making kissy noises into the phone and started telling her stuff I did not want her to know, so I pulled the helmet off his head and attempted to throw it in the pool so he'd leave me alone. I guess it landed on the edge or something, because the next thing I know he was yelling at me."

Logan nodded. James was sensitive when it came to Lucy and Logan suspected that Kendall was right and for the first time, their self-proclaimed ladies’ man, the infamous bachelor, was actually in love. Logan had been right before when he thought Carlos must've pushed him pretty far to do something like this. He begrudgingly admitted to himself he probably shouldn't be as annoyed with James as he was. 

"So, why are you mad at me?"

James was watching him carefully and Logan quickly averted his eyes. "I'm not mad at you," Logan lied.

"You are," James stated. "I'm dumb, Logan, not ignorant."

Logan raised an eyebrow and was about to counter that it was often the exactly the other way around but decided not to. "I'm not mad at you," He repeated. 

"Then what was with the glare earlier? And shoving the furniture?"

Logan shrugged. "Nothing."

"Dude."

"I might be a little annoyed on Carlos' behalf."

James studied him, then shook his head. "That's not it. You were mad before you even knew what that fight was about."

"It's nothing, James. Just drop it, would you?"

"No, really. With the way you were acting, you'd think I'd interrupted you during a test."

James was much too close for Logan's comfort. "You interrupted nothing," Logan told him, which was half a truth. James and Carlos walked in during the moment leading up to the kiss, not to the kiss itself.

It was as if James sniffed out Logan was hiding juicy gossip and his eyes narrowed. "What were you doing, Logie?" 

Logan tried a casual shrug. "Just hangin'."

"With Kendall?"

"Yes, with Kendall."

"What were you doing?"

"You know, video games."

"The TV was off when we came in, Loginator."

"On the switch," Logan added hastily. 

"You mean this switch?" James asked him, pulling out the brightly coloured device from under his mountain of magazines. Naturally it was James' week to have that damn thing.  
Logan looked around the room trying to come up with a decent, believable lie. Because even if he wanted to tell James, which he did not, there wasn't anything to tell. He fiddled with a loose thread on his blanket and resolved to distract James by telling him Kendall dropped his comb in the toilet the other day when James started laughing at him. "Dude, with the way you're fidgeting you'd think you were making out."

Logan froze and James' eyes widened comically. "No," He breathed. 

"Of course not!" Logan said quickly, but he could feel his face flush. 

"Oh my god. You were totally making out!" James nearly yelled. 

Logan grabbed his pillow and threw it at James' head, effectively silencing him. "Would you keep it down?" Logan hissed. 

James took the pillow and got off his bed, sliding in next to Logan. "Depends on what you'll tell me," He asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Cursing his inability to keep secrets from his friends, Logan resolved to tell James the truth. "We didn't kiss-"

"Logan-"

"But we were about to," Logan finished his sentence. 

"Oh my god." James grinned widely. "So what is this?" 

"I don't know, would I? You interrupted us."

"No, I mean, is this a physical thing? Are you in love?"

Logan felt the blush creep back on his face and James nudged him. "Aw, you're so smitten."

"Shut up," Logan grumbled. 

"Who knew, the nerd and the hockey head," James sighed. 

"James."

"If I had to call who in the band would go gay for each other I totally would've said you and Carlos."

"James."

"Maybe even Kendall and Carlos before you and Carlos."

"Dude!"

"Does that bother you? Your man with the goofball?"

"I think I hate you."

James laughed and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "Let me tease, Logie, I haven't talked to anyone since lunch."

"Maybe you should try that more often."

James ignored the insult. "For what it's worth, I totally approve."

Logan perked up in surprise. "You do?"

"Yeah. It's cute. And I guess it makes sense."

James' confession made Logan feel a lot more comfortable talking about this. "How so?"

He shrugged. "You've always been closer. Kendall's also completely overprotective when it comes to you. And I guess he feels most comfortable telling you stuff."

"What?"

"When he's mad or sad, he goes to find you."

Logan smiled to himself and felt the flutter of butterflies in his stomach go wild. "I meant the overprotective thing."

"Oh. I don't know, I guess it has something to do with your tendency to piss people off who are bigger than you, like insulting the wrestling team in Latin. Or maybe it's because you're short and skinny. You really should come with me to the gym sometime."

James pinched in Logan's arm and he swatted at his hand until James let go, but his words bothered Logan more. "Do you think Kendall is just looking out for me?"

He shook his head. "No. You haven't even told me yet what exactly happened between you, but I'm sure you mean more to him than that."

Logan nodded and stared at his knees. If Carlos had just behaved himself and James hadn't been stupid, he would've been with Kendall now and even though that was the preferable option, he appreciated this talk with James.

He was nudged in his side and arched an eyebrow at James. "That was a very clear opening, but I'll ask again; tell me what happened today," James demanded eagerly. 

"You didn't ask me a question, but fine. We were talking about the band with music on, then this one song came on and Kendall started this silly dance."

"What song?"

"'Let's do it again' it's called, I think."

James nodded. "Kendall loves J Boog."

Logan decided this wasn't the time to go into Kendall's weird taste in music. "Anyway. Kendall pulled me up and we danced together-"

"Aw," James cooed.

"He sang along and then he looked at me when this one line came-"

"I wanna be more than your friend."

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Logan asked him, annoyed. 

James zipped his lips and nodded. 

"He sang along, and we were really close, and I was sure we were about to kiss, but then you and Carlos came in."

"Dude, that sucks. I'm sorry."

"Kendall did say 'this is happening', before the door opened."

James smiled. "He would say that. So why haven't you kissed him yet?"

"When did you suppose we do that today?" Logan started, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "We thought we would have all the time in the world to do so tonight, but then Carlos requested we switch rooms. And we spent the whole night cheering him up."

"Fuck. I'm sorry."

"You should be."

"It would really help if I made up with Carlos, huh?"

"You should want to make up with Carlos for Carlos' sake, but if you need extra motivation then I guess this would be it."

"No need to be snippy."

"Sorry. So would you?"

"Make up with Carlos? I want to, believe me, but I don't think he's as eager to."

"Just try?" Logan sighed. 

"Sure," James answered, then smirked down at him. "You must be really hard up."

Logan shoved James away from him. "Go back to your own bed."

"Sure thing, lover boy," James laughed. He shoved the magazines off the bed and got under the covers. Logan did the same. 

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you keep this to yourself? At least until Kendall and I had a chance to actually do something about it?"

"I'll try."

Logan knew that was as good as he would get from James. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Logan shuffled out of his room at eleven, still in pyjamas. Logan heard James leave for the gym earlier, but he liked sleeping in on their rare days off. He'd woken up to the smell of pancakes and his stomach told him it was time to get out of bed; Mrs. Knight's pancakes were delicious.

But it wasn't Mrs. Knight Logan saw upon emerging from the slide. Kendall was in the kitchen, dressed in sweats and an apron and flipping more pancakes on the mountain next to the stove. Kendall smiled widely when he saw him. "Hi."

"Good morning," Logan answered, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

"You sleep okay?"

Logan nodded and made his way over the coffee machine, pleased to find a full pot. "Thank you," He told Kendall gratefully.

"No problem."

Logan settled at the bar with his coffee and for two minutes neither of them spoke. The bowl of pancake batter was still half full and Logan watched Kendall bake another round while trying to wake his brain. "Are you providing breakfast for the whole hotel this morning?" 

Kendall looked over at him and smiled, his eyes light. "You like pancakes, right?"

Logan bit his lip to stop the stupid grin from breaking, but he couldn't help the blush. Kendall was baking pancakes for him. "I love pancakes," Logan admitted, glad to see the smile on Kendall's face widen. "I'm only one person though."

"Yeah, it got a little bit away from me," Kendall laughed. "I accidentally added the whole thing of milk, so then I had to compensate with the pancake mix. I think there are sixteen eggs in this."

"You might actually be able to feed the whole hotel."

"Oh, trust me. Once Carlos wakes up and James comes back from the gym, they'll finish all of them."

Logan shook his head, laughing. "No way. They can eat, but not that much."

Kendall raised an eyebrow at him. He'd just stacked the second platter of pancakes as high as it could without any sliding off. "You wanna bet?"

"That would depend on the stakes."

"If you win and we can't finish all the pancakes between the four of us and Katie, you get all my turns on the platinum controller for the next month."

Logan nodded and brought his cup up to his face, that was a good deal. "And if you win?"

"If I win, we're going on a date tonight."

He stared at Kendall over his mug. Kendall was completely serious and Logan's butterflies went nuts. After yesterday, he was desperate for another chance to be alone with Kendall but he hadn't expected a date so soon. Slowly, he lowered his mug and he shook his head. "That won't do," Logan told him.

Kendall's face fell. "How come?"

"I don't want to win that bet."

Logan was sure his own stupid grin matched Kendall's then, but Kendall recovered quicker. "Well then, let's skip the bet," He told Logan while turning off the burner. Kendall got up to the other side of the bar and leaned over it, cupping his hands over Logan's around his mug. "You want to go out with me tonight?"

Logan admired Kendall's inability to feel awkward, because it made these moments infinitely easier. He couldn't take his eyes off Kendall's when he nodded, fucking ecstatic that this was finally happening tonight. 

"Great," Kendall said softly, trailing his fingers along Logan's wrist. 

"Where are we going?"

"Wherever you want, I don't care. I really just-"

"I smell pancakes," James sang when he came in and Kendall pulled his hands away quickly, standing up straight. James walked further into the room. His eyes landed on Kendall and Logan and the biggest grin spread on his face. "Well hello."

"Hey bud," Kendall said casually, making his way back to the stove to finish cooking the last of the batter. 

James looked entirely too happy about stumbling in when he did and he sat next to Logan at the bar. Logan prayed James would keep his big mouth shut, but he wasn’t optimistic. "How did you sleep, Kendall?" James asked.

"Like crap. Carlos snores like a chainsaw."

"I slept great; your bed is very comfortable."

"Your bed sucks," Kendall informed him. 

"I had great company too. Logan doesn't snore."

Kendall glared at James. "I know, I've shared a room with him for years."

"Yes, you did," James said slyly. 

"How about you make up with Carlos today?" Kendall suggested. "I'd like to go back."

James grinned evilly and Logan had a bad feeling about his intentions. "I bet you do. I kinda like the new arrangement though."

Kendall rolled his eyes. "Apologise to your best friend, Jamez. You're the only one who sleeps deep enough not to be woken by the noise."

"I might wait a few more nights, you know, catch up on beauty sleep."

Kendall was busy scooping new batter into the pan and Logan took the opportunity to jam his elbow into James' ribs. 'Stop,' he mouthed when James wanted to object. 

James completely ignored him. "Any plans for today?"

"Logan and I are going to see a movie tonight," Kendall told him evenly. Logan could tell he was annoyed with James' behaviour and he wondered when it was time to put a stop to this. Logan really didn't want Kendall to know he blabbed about something that was still so new. 

"Awesome! Can I come?"

Logan tried to hit James again, but he dodged his elbow this time. "No," Kendall told him bluntly. 

"Why not?"

"Because you're being a giant pain in the ass and I don't want to be around you until you start being a better friend." Logan regarded at Kendall nervously, because, at this point, he sounded thoroughly vexed. James was a master at playing on people's nerves and he was pushing all of Kendall's buttons. 

"Fine," James sighed. "I'll make up with Carlos today and let you get to your own stupid bed."

"Good boy." Kendall placed the last pancakes on a plate and turned off the stove. 

"Logan's bed is more comfortable anyway."

Kendall stilled and Logan could just feel how pleased James was with that reaction. "Excuse me?" Kendall asked eventually, turning fully to the bar. 

"We had a very interesting night," James said shrewdly. 

Logan cringed at his choice of words. Kendall was gritting his teeth, clearly pissed off, and James decided to step it up a notch by draping his arm over the back of Logan's chair. He decided this was too far. 

Logan slapped James' arms away. "Kendall, James' messing with you. He knows."

James shook with laughter and Logan attempted to shove him off his chair. "You're a sucky friend," Logan told him when James didn't move an inch. Stupid tall legs reaching the damn floor.   
Kendall walked around the bar and for a moment Logan was afraid he would hit James, but he just took his arm and finished what Logan started by wrenching him off his stool. "Ass," Kendall muttered, taking the seat James vacated. 

The insults didn't bother James in the slightest and he chuckled as he straightened his clothes. "As if you wouldn't have done the same."

Logan bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling when Kendall rolled his eyes because James was completely right. "That's not the point," Kendall answered dryly. 

"Sure, bud."

"Just go tell Carlos and Katie breakfast is ready."

"Okay." James grinned and went into the back hallway. 

Kendall turned to Logan, both eyebrows raised to his hairline. "I'm sorry," Logan told him. "I swear I didn't tell him, James actually figured it out on his own."

"James figured it out?" Kendall asked, voice dripping with disbelieve. 

"Maybe, well- let's say he interrogated me and stumbled upon just the right question, and I can't lie to safe my life."

Kendall watched him for a moment, then smiled at him. "Now, that, I believe."

Logan smiled back, relieved that Kendall wasn't mad at him. "I asked him not to say anything."

"Yeah, that was never gonna happen, Logie," Kendall laughed. 

"I know," He pouted. 

Tentatively, Kendall's hand curled around his waist and pulled him close. Logan closed his eyes and leaned into Kendall. His heart started racing at the contact and at the same time he felt a thousand times better, he was glad that Kendall got over James' teasing so easily. "At least James' messing around shows he's fine with this," Kendall said quietly, lips close to Logan’s temple.

"He is," Logan agreed. "He told me so last night."

"How come he tells you nicely and he immediately goes to fucking with me?"

"Maybe because you keep challenging him left and right and James wasn't going to turn down a certain win."

Kendall hummed and Logan thought of what James had said last night about Kendall being overprotective. He'd certainly exploited that quality in Kendall today, but it made Logan think of something else. 

"Hey, Kendall?"

"Yeah?" 

"Were you actually jealous when James said my bed was more comfortable?"

The hand that had been fingering the hem of Logan's shirt froze. "Maybe," Kendall told him.

Logan smiled to himself and slipped both his arms around Kendall's neck. "Don't be," Logan said softly, resting his chin on Kendall's shoulder. 

Kendall closed his other arm around Logan's middle and a second later he found himself straddling Kendall's lap. His heart skipped, but Kendall simply held him close and Logan relaxed. "I really want to go out with you tonight," Kendall told him, his voice low and soft.

"Me too."

Kendall's fingers ran along his spine and Logan pressed close to Kendall's chest. He wondered briefly how it was possible he felt all this; the butterflies in his belly, the electric current below his skin whenever Kendall touched him, the heat in his chest when Kendall was being so damn thoughtful - without a single kiss shared between them. Kendall was clearly thinking the same thing and moved one hand to the back of Logan's neck, pulling away slightly to meet his eyes. 

"No PDA in the living room."

Logan closed his eyes in disappointment and he heard Kendall sigh. "Fuck off, James."

James was leaning over the balcony, smirking down at them. "Hey, I'm doing you a favour. Everyone's awake, they'll be down in a minute."

James disappeared and Logan looked back at Kendall. "Tonight?" Logan asked him. 

"Tonight," Kendall promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to TheaterKid, who beta read this story for me±
> 
> I have started working on some bits for a sequel to this, but I’m not sure if I’ll post this since I haven’t gotten that much feedback. Please let me know if you’d like to read more? I put a lot of work into editing, but I won’t bother if no one is interested.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, you ready to go?"

Logan looked up from his physics book and smiled when he saw Kendall leaning against the doorpost. "Already?" Logan asked after glancing at his watch, it was barely 3 pm. He didn’t expect to leave until that evening.

"Katie pestered mom into camping out in line for a new iSlab and the box with Carlos' new helmets was just delivered, James is taking it to him. I thought this would be a good moment to sneak out before anyone decides to tag along."

Logan chewed on his lip. He'd hoped to change into something less... geeky. Logan didn't know exactly what Kendall’s plan was, but he didn't want to wear a sweater vest on a first date. 

Kendall's smile fell slightly. "It's fine if you want to wait until tonight, I just figured it would be easier to slip out now."

"No, I want to go now," Logan said quickly, he never meant to let Kendall down and he was happy to see the smile back on his face. "Just, um, give me a minute?"

"Sure."

Kendall closed the door behind him and Logan rushed to his closet. For once Logan wished James was there; his friend was a total pain in the ass, but he knew his way around clothes. Logan didn't know why he cared so much; he was sure that Kendall didn't give a damn what he was wearing. 

Not as long as it was easy to take off.

Logan forced his mind out of the gutter and pulled his favourite white-and-navy striped cardigan out of his dresser. Not perfect, but it would do. Logan changed and forced himself not to look at his hair in the mirror. He wanted to look good for his date, yes, but not more than he wanted to avoid more people interrupting moments with Kendall. 

Kendall was waiting for him by the door, a bag over his shoulder. He smiled when he laid eyes on Logan. "Did you change?"

"Is that weird?"

Kendall shook his head. "No, you look good."

Logan smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Shall we?" Kendall asked.

"Yes. Did you tell anyone we were leaving?"

"I'll text mom as soon as we're in the car." Kendall held the door for Logan. "I want to be well on our way before anyone realises we're gone."

He went ahead to the elevators. "We had some bad luck with the interruptions," Logan agreed.

"Some? I'm afraid the universe is punishing us for something."

Logan laughed. "Okay, a lot of bad luck."

Kendall put his arm around Logan's shoulders as they waited on the elevator. "I have two ideas for today you can choose between."

"Oh?" Logan asked curiously.

The elevator arrived and they got in. "We can go pick up food somewhere and watch the new marvel movie or we can go up to the mountains and go see the waterfall you wanted to see on our last hike." 

Logan looked up at Kendall in surprise. A few months ago, when they had a weekend off, Carlos had complained about not being allowed to go camping again and Logan had suggested they go up to the mountains to take a hike instead. He also missed nature. The four of them drove up and Logan found a fairly short trail up to a waterfall, but the whole idea of a hike had fallen apart the moment the first mosquito landed on James. "You remembered that?"

Kendall nodded. "Yeah. James bitching the whole time is hard to forget."

"You're right," Logan laughed.

They arrived in the lobby and made their way to the parking lot. "The waterfall's supposedly bigger now," Kendall told Logan. "Since it's spring and the snow is melting." Logan looked up at him curiously, because since when did Kendall care about geography? 

"Can we go?" Logan asked excitedly. 

"Yes," Kendall answered, smiling. 

"This is really cool," Logan said before he could help it and immediately felt like a total nerd. 

Kendall unlocked the car and dropped his bag in the trunk. "It's a bit of a drive though and we'll need to pick up food somewhere, but I brought a blanket so we can have a picnic."

Logan hesitated next to the car. This operation entailed a lot more than just walking to the mall to pick up food and maybe Kendall hoped that he would choose to go see a movie because it was less of a hassle. "Do you want to go?" He asked.

Kendall looked up. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"It takes a while before we're up there and watching a movie would be easier."

"It would also be less fun and more public," Kendall countered. Logan didn't consider that part about their date; they were definitely famous and touching Kendall beyond a casual arm around his shoulders was out of the question. Let alone getting to kiss him at some point. 

"Right," Logan answered as he got into the car. 

Kendall climbed in on the driver's side, but didn't start the car yet and turned to Logan. "Honestly, I don't really care what we're doing today," Kendall told him. "I've wanted to do this for months and I just want to spend time with you."

Logan felt his face flush and Kendall smiled, reaching over to take his hand. "Oh," Logan said quietly. 

Kendall squeezed in his hand and Logan looked up to meet Kendall's eyes. For the first time since he noticed Kendall's feelings towards him changed Kendall seemed unsure and somewhat timid. He was watching Logan closely and he realised he might have grossly underestimated just how much Kendall wanted this date.

From the beginning, Kendall had been completely open and honest about how he felt. Usually, he was so confident and sure of himself that Logan never considered that his friend might be just as nervous as he was. Especially after Kendall just confessed he wanted to go out with Logan for months because Logan had only been aware of these new feelings for a couple of weeks. Logan imagined trying to deal with having feelings for his best friend on his own, to come to that realisation and hiding them while trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do now. While Logan still had Kendall around him to answer his questions, Kendall had to figure it out by himself. 

Logan tried to come to terms with this new information. As completely clueless and ignorant as he was when it came to emotions, he was competent enough to know what they meant once someone expressed them. And Kendall had just told him more with two sentences than Logan could’ve ever figured out on his own. 

"If you'd rather go see a movie-" Kendall started quietly. 

"No," Logan interrupted, he realised this wasn’t a casual suggestion: Kendall was scared he didn’t want to go out anymore and tried to please him. "I want to be alone with you."

Kendall grinned and Logan felt his cheeks grow even warmer. "Good."

"I like you," Logan said quickly before he could think it over and chicken out. "I just realised I haven’t told you that yet."

"You didn't," Kendall told him. The light was back in his eyes and he ran his thumb along the back of Logan's hand. "But I made an educated guess that you made up your mind when you started flirting with me during the Mario-debacle yesterday."

Logan bit his lip. "I wanted to tell you when you came home, but I didn't have the guts. Which is stupid, because you already told me."

"It's not stupid," Kendall told him. "That was actually really fun until Carlos and James interrupted us."

"Um. Unless you told them where we're going, I think we won't be interrupted today,” Logan said softly. 

Kendall smiled and his eyes brightened and Logan’s butterflies went wild. “Let’s go.” 

They listened to the radio on the way to the grocery store and Logan looked up the directions to the Hermit falls. Last time they started the hike at the foot of the mountain, but for today Logan found a parking spot closer to the waterfall that would shorten the hike to twenty minutes. Logan considered that to be the preferable option; he liked hiking, but not more than the idea of spending the afternoon with Kendall on a blanket. 

They arrived at the supermarket and Kendall took a basket. "What do you want?"

"Stuff that doesn't attract dangerous wildlife."

"Good call," Kendall laughed. 

They proceeded to pick up a variety of mostly vegetarian snacks and some pre-packaged cheesy bread, along with drinks. When they got to the register Logan pulled out his wallet while Kendall was loading their stuff onto the counter, but his hand was knocked out of the way when he wanted to hand his card over. "I'm paying," Kendall told him. 

Logan watched him amusedly. "I make the exact same amount of money you do."

"I asked you out, let me." 

He smiled and packed up their stuff, waiting for Kendall to finish up. Kendall took the bag from him on their way back to the car. "I could've carried that."

"I know, I wanted to."

Logan considered teasing him with his chivalry but decided he wouldn’t. No one had ever held open doors for him or carried a bag for him, and Logan surprisingly liked it. A lot. "Thank you."  
Kendall smiled and briefly ran his hand along Logan's back. Logan was grateful they would be alone for the rest of the day, being careful not to touch in public sucked. 

Logan hoped James managed to get Carlos to forgive him because he wanted Kendall to move back in their room. Logan was sure that sneaking around would be fun the first week, but trying to find places to be alone together would grow old very quick. 

"Did you know Carlos told Stephanie he's in love with her?" Kendall asked when they were back on the road. 

"Yeah.” Logan smiled when he remembered that moment. “I told him to tell her.”

Kendall smiled. "You did?" 

Logan nodded. "We were talking and he said it without even realising it himself. I asked him if he told her yet and he ran out on me to go do so."

"That might be the cutest thing ever."

"That's what I thought too."

"What were you talking about?" Kendall asked curiously. "Such a thing doesn't just come up."

Logan knew that with Carlos anything was possible, and he could use that phenomenon to avoid answering Kendall's question, but Logan found he didn't want to. Kendall had done him the courtesy of being completely honest about his feelings and he deserved the same from Logan. Even if admitting Logan needed Carlos to figure out what he was feeling was slightly embarrassing. "I was trying to figure what I felt for you and I thought Carlos might be able to clarify some stuff for me."

He kept his eyes carefully in his lap to avoid Kendall seeing him blush again. That was until Kendall took his hand in his. "I think I was wrong about the sweetest thing in the world," Kendall told him. 

Logan smiled when the warm feeling returned to his chest and he watched Kendall's thumb run along his hand. "I think Carlos still wins that, but talking to him helped."

"Yeah? That doesn't happen a lot."

"You should really give him more credit, I may not have been here without him," Logan teased. 

Kendall hummed. "In that case, I might just have to get Carlos two more helmets."

"I was thinking a bouquet of corn dogs."

He laughed. "That would work too."

Logan kept quiet for a while. Carlos played a big part in figuring out his feelings, but not as much as Kendall himself. "It wasn’t Carlos as much as you who convinced me that this could work,” He confessed.

"Yeah?"

Logan nodded. "It wasn't anything you said specifically," Logan remembered, thinking back to how much calmer and more secure he felt the moment Kendall was there after his mother disowned him. “I think the only reason I wasn’t more upset after that phone call is because you were there. I’ve no clue how you do it, but you showed with everything you did and said how much faith you had that a relationship between us would work out. And I trust you more than, well, anything, really. So-"

Kendall squeezed his hand hard. "Stop."

Logan met Kendall's eyes in the rear-view mirror and bit his lip, afraid he said something wrong. 

"Sorry," Kendall whispered. "I loved hearing that, but when you say stuff like that I wish I could kiss you already and I really, really hate we’re on the freeway right now."  
Logan felt his heartbeat speed up and he swallowed heavily when Kendall's eyes returned to the road. The atmosphere in the car felt a lot heavier to Logan and in that moment he regretted not going to see a movie. They could’ve been in the back of a dark room right now. Why did stuff keep getting in the way?

He reminded himself that this was worth it. In half an hour they would be in the forest, hopefully on their way to a secluded spot with a lot of shade, and nothing and no one would interrupt them for a few hours. Logan desperately wanted to be close to Kendall; hold his hand and cuddle and finally learn what it was like to kiss him. 

Kendall ran his thumb along Logan's knuckles and he decided that this would do. For now. They had been building towards this moment for so long, Logan could wait a little longer. "We'll talk about something else," Logan said, needing to distract himself. "How's your mother's apartment?"

He let out a surprised laugh. "That's quite a turn."

"I couldn't come up with anything else."

Kendall chuckled. "Um. It's nice, spacious and with loads of windows. Mom and Katie each have their own bathroom, they're really excited about that. Katie said she'll still be at the Palm Woods all the time, since we have a pool and she doesn't, but I think maybe she'll actually miss us."

"It must be strange for her too; she's going back to a regular school. She hasn't been since she was ten."

"Katie will make it work."

"I don't doubt that,” Logan agreed. Katie was freakishly intelligent in ways even Logan didn’t understand. “She's going places."

Kendall nodded. "Mom made a good call to move."

"Are you okay with it? I’m sorry I teased you with it before, you're allowed to feel bad they're moving away."

"I'm good, Logie,” Kendall answered, squeezing softly in his hand. “It's not like you're all moving out."

That was the second time Kendall said something about his friends moving away. The last time they talked about it their conversation had moved on to his plans for after the band, but now Logan wondered if there was more to it. “Are you worried we’ll leave?” He asked tentatively.

Kendall didn’t answer for a few moments. “I know it will happen at some point. I just hope not all of you at once so I have some time to get used to it.”

Logan had no idea any of this went on in Kendall’s head and he was at a complete loss for words. 

Kendall continued talking before Logan could ask. "I may have a little separation anxiety," He admitted. "It’s why I didn't want to go to LA without you guys to start the band. I don't like it when the people I love most are too far away from me. In that sense, the last four years have been perfect, because I got to live with my five favourite people in the world."

Logan pulled his bottom lip between his teeth as he stared at Kendall, he was sure this was a feeling he never shared with anyone before. Kendall was always completely open and honest, but this went much deeper and Logan felt like even more of jerk for teasing him with it in the first place. Suddenly he perfectly understood Kendall's sentiment when he told Logan to stop talking; Logan desperately wanted to do something to make him feel better. 

On a whim, he brought Kendall’s hand up to his face to kiss it. “Stop talking,” Logan whispered, when Kendall looked up in surprise and even though Logan really wanted to know more, to be the person Kendall shared all his deep thoughts with. 

Kendall smiled at him and Logan loved to see the softness in his eyes. He laced their fingers when Logan placed their hands back in his lap. "I don't think I'll ever want to when I'm with you."  
Logan averted his eyes and the butterflies in his stomach fluttered happily when Kendall went back to stroking his hand with his thumb. This date didn't even officially start yet and Logan already considered it to be the best he'd ever been on.

Kendall pulled his hand back when he took the exit off the freeway. Logan checked Google Maps, from that point it was only ten more minutes to their destination. 

"You think James and Carlos will make up today?" Kendall asked after they had been quiet for a few minutes.

"I hope so. James said he'd try."

"I might make him sleep on the couch if he's still in our room tonight," Kendall announced. 

Logan raised his eyebrows.

Kendall smirked. "So that he'd feel motivated to try harder tomorrow. Where did your mind go?"

Logan sincerely questioned Kendall's intentions, but he chose not to bite. So far he’d carefully avoided thinking about anything beyond kissing Kendall. Not necessarily because he didn’t want to, but more so because he was nervous. "It took Carlos two weeks to forgive me when I broke his helmet, I really hope they won't be fighting for that long. Can you imagine trying to get any work done?"

"That would suck," Kendall agreed. "I'll talk to Carlos tomorrow if they're still fighting, but maybe Stephanie will do so first."

"You think?"

"Yeah. I overheard them at the pool this morning; Carlos couldn't stop pouting. I'm sure she'll get fed up with that real soon. Especially since he got a new helmet within twenty-four hours."

"Good." Kendall took a turn and Logan saw the sign welcoming them to Hermit Falls. "Hey, Kendall?"

"Yes?"

"Is that how you always know everything? By eavesdropping on our conversations?"

Kendall laughed. "I have different tactics when it comes to each of you, but for Carlos, yes, mostly."

“And for James?”

“James talks a lot. Not just to me, but to everyone. It’s easy to piece all those little bits of information together.”

“He doesn’t talk about Lucy.”

“He knows what bits of information to hold back.” Kendall agreed, “James is sneaky.”

He laughed, ‘sneaky’ was the right word to describe James and his ways to find gossip. “And me?”

Kendall smiled at him through the mirror. “I almost always know what you’re thinking, you read like a book.”

“Oh.”

“It’s nice, Logie. I like telling you stuff because I always get a sincere reaction.”

Logan’s cheeks flushed and the warm feeling was back in his chest. It meant a lot to him that he was the one Kendall came to with things that bothered him. He also loved how open Kendall was today. Kendall shared things with him that he’d never done before and it made Logan feel warm and special that he was the person Kendall chose to talk to. 

Kendall drove the car onto the parking lot and Logan's heart jumped when he realised they were finally at their destination. They got out of the car and Logan took a minute to look around and breathe in the fresh air. It had been a long time since he'd been out of the city and he enjoyed it more than he thought he would. Logan would never consider moving back to Minnesota after what happened with his mother, but at one point in his life, he would like to live in a place with less concrete than Los Angeles.

"You coming?" Kendall was standing at the beginning of the path, bags slung over his shoulder. 

"Yes."

Kendall started walking up the trail and Logan followed, quickening his pace to catch up. He slipped his hand in Kendall's when he did, having missed the contact since the car. "Hi," Kendall said, squeezing his hand.

"Hey," Logan answered quietly. He was at a loss for words after all that was said in the car. The butterflies in his stomach had worked themselves into a frenzy now that his goal was so much closer. Logan wondered if Kendall felt the same anticipation, his friend seemed as calm as ever. He reminded himself that they had the rest of the day together and there was no hurry. So far they had been perfectly capable of creating opportunities to kiss, they just needed one moment nothing else came in their way.

On their way up to the waterfall, they passed more little streams and several bigger pools of water. At the beginning of the trail, he saw some people cliff diving and swimming and he regretted not thinking of bathing suits when they were still at the Palm Woods. “Did you bring trunks?” He asked Kendall.

“I did. Towels too.”

As they made their way further up the trail they saw fewer and fewer people and by the time Logan heard the vague clatter of another waterfall he hadn't seen anyone for ten minutes. "There," Kendall told him, pointing to the waterfall through the trees.

Logan smiled and let go of Kendall to check it out. The waterfall was about thrice as tall as he was and streamed through the crack between two bigger rock formations into a moderately big creek. The water was clear enough for Logan to see the pebbles at the bottom. He crouched next to it and dipped his hand in. "It's so cold!" He told Kendall.

Logan thought Kendall followed him, but when he turned back Kendall was sitting on the picnic blanket, watching him. He got up and made his way over, sinking down next to him on the blanket. Kendall smiled and wrapped his arm around Logan's middle, pulling him close. "Do you want to start with food?"

"So we can get that out of the way?" 

Kendall let out a surprised laugh. "That's not what I meant, but sure."

Logan crawled over to get the bag with the food they brought and pulled out drinks and bread, along with some of the snacks they brought. He hesitated when he looked back with Kendall, but before he could make a decision on where to sit Kendall took his hand and pulled him back in the place beside him. "Stay next to me."

Logan nodded, averting his eyes blushing when Kendall smiled at him.

Kendall reached for the food and for a while they sat in silence, munching on snacks and watching the birds around them begging for crumbs. Kendall entertained Logan for a while by making the birds fight over the crumbs. "Have you thought about college any?" Kendall asked him when they finished eating.

"Not so much," Logan told him truthfully. "I was preoccupied trying to figure out something else."

Kendall smiled at Logan’s confession. "You still have a few weeks to figure it out."

"I think I'll hold off making a decision until we’ve talked with James and Carlos. A lot is happening all at once and this should be a group decision."

“It doesn’t have to be.”

Logan looked down and thought about how to answer that. It didn’t feel right to him to make this call on his own and he desperately wanted to avoid getting in a serious fight with any of his friends. Logan lost enough people the last few days. “I want it to be,” He said eventually. “The last thing I want is for any of you to resent me for moving on.”

“No one will resent you.”

“I need to be sure. College isn’t going anywhere, I can start next year. I still have some courses left I can do online.”

That had been a weak attempt at distracting him and Logan knew when Kendall placed his hand over his that he saw right through him. “Even if you choose to go this year, James and Carlos won’t stop being your friends.”

“I don’t want to lose anyone else,” Logan whispered.

“I know, but please believe me when I tell you I won’t let that happen.” Logan looked up and he was taken aback by the fierce determination and conviction in Kendall’s eyes. 

He nodded, somewhat reassured by Kendall’s promise. It was a huge relief to know Kendall was on his side, that he wouldn’t be going into that conversation alone, even if he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do yet. "What will you do if we decide to end the band?" Logan asked to divert Kendall from his plans to his own.

"Play hockey, hopefully."

Logan nodded, having expected that. "That might be hard," He said carefully. He didn't want to squash Kendall's lifelong dream, but he didn’t compete in any hockey league for the time they were in L.A.. Kendall still visited the rink whenever he could and he was in perfect condition, but Logan wasn't sure how eager professional hockey teams would be to employ Kendall after such a long time without being on the ice.

"Then I'll work hard," Kendall told him, laying back on the blanket.

Logan knew that Kendall's commitment to his goal meant he would succeed one way or another. He wasn't sure if there were any more routes to a professional hockey career other than the college track, but he was sure Kendall had that part figured out. There were probably some minor leagues he could join first to work his way up to the NHL. 

Though that may not be as easy in California as it would be in Minnesota. 

"Kendall?"

"Hmm?"

"You'll be playing hockey here, right? In Los Angeles?"

Kendall took the back of Logan's shirt and pulled him down, sliding his arm around Logan's waist. "Yes. I'll stay here."

"Good," Logan answered, resting his head on Kendall's chest.

"Were you worried?"

Logan nodded and wrapped his arm over Kendall's stomach. "I don't want you to leave."

Kendall moved his other hand to Logan's face and rubbed his thumb along Logan's jaw. "I don't want to leave you."

"Really?"

Kendall laughed quietly. "Didn’t we just talk about that in the car?”

“Not in this context.”

He brushed his lips to Logan’s forehead. “I don't want to be away from my favourite people."

Logan nodded, moving his head until his ear was over Kendall’s heart.

"I think, if it comes down to it," Kendall started quietly, "And James goes to broadway and Carlos wants to travel the world with Stephanie, for example, I will be fine as long as you stay close."

"Kendall..."

"You may just be my favourite person in the world."

Kendall's arm tightened around his middle and Logan was sure he was blushing down to his toes. Kendall continued to gently touch his face and Logan closed his eyes, feeling the familiar tingle under his skin wherever Kendall touched him and pressed closely to Kendall's side. The whole day had been magical and Logan couldn't remember if he'd ever felt this at peace with another person. Kendall made him happy. 

Kendall tilted Logan's head slightly so he would meet Kendall's eyes and for the first time today, Logan was nervous. Everything about their date had been wonderful and amazing and perfect and up until that point, Logan never considered that finally kissing Kendall would be any different. Logan had been struggling to make sense of his feelings for weeks and Kendall told him he'd been looking forward to this for months. It had taken them a lot of attempts to get here, what if their first kiss was a huge disappointment?

"What are you thinking?" Kendall asked, the mischievous glint in his eyes betraying his amusement. Logan should've anticipated that Kendall would notice his concern. Stupid, observant know-it-all.

"What if it's bad?" Logan asked quietly. 

Kendall shook his head with a smile and he ran the back of his hand along Logan's cheek. "It's not going to be bad."

"Yeah, but what if it is?"

"Then we'll have a good laugh and in a few years, we'll think back fondly of the time 'Kendall and Logan thought they liked each other'," Kendall told him, pulling him closer by the arm around his waist. Kendall looked like he wanted to crack up and it bothered Logan somewhat that he was so entertained by his insecurities. "But it won't be bad."

"How do you know?"

Kendall trailed a few fingers along with the sensitive spot behind Logan's ear. "Because of this," Kendall told him softly. Logan closed his eyes when he trembled and he felt the familiar tingle run down his body. "And because every time you smile at me, my hearts stops beating."

"Oh," Logan whispered, glancing up at Kendall. 

Kendall held Logan’s eyes, the light in them so captivating. "Can I?" Kendall asked him. 

"Yes," Logan answered, curling his fingers tightly in the fabric of Kendall's shirt to try and suppress his nerves. 

Kendall smiled softly and the butterflies in Logan's stomach went wild. Kendall leaned in slowly, as if giving Logan time to back out, but Logan had no more doubts. He closed his eyes and met Kendall's lips halfway. The kiss was soft and slow and wonderful and Logan felt silly for ever thinking a kiss with Kendall would be anything but that. He curled closer to Kendall's body and sighed when the hand on his face travelled to cup the back of his neck to hold him closely. Kendall’s lips were made for this and Logan quickly decided this was his new favourite thing to do.

That was until Kendall's tongue teased at his lips. Logan's breath caught and he gladly parted them, sighing when their tongues brushed along each other. Kendall rolled from his back onto his side and he pulled Logan's leg between his, his hand on Logan's back trailed down to toy with the hem of his shirt until his fingers brushed along bare skin. Logan couldn't get enough, he wanted all of it, and when Kendall brushed long fingers along the spot behind his ear Logan moaned, his fingers digging hard in Kendall's skin. 

Kendall smiled when he pulled away, placing soft kisses along Logan's face while Logan tried to catch his breath. "Good?" Kendall asked him. 

Logan ignored the smugness in Kendall's voice and nodded, sliding his fingers through Kendall's hair. "Let's not stop, ever."

"Okay," Kendall answered, slowly kissing his way back along Logan's jaw until he reached his lips. 

Logan lost complete track of time when Kendall was true to his word and kept on kissing him. He trailed his hands up into Kendall's hair and got bolder when Kendall trailed his fingers along Logan's spine, pressing up close to his chest and kissing him harder. Kendall never seemed to mind, keeping firm hands on his body and taking his time to explore more sensitive places. 

When they finally managed to pull away from each other Kendall smiled at Logan and rolled onto his back, sighing happily when Logan curled up against his side. "We should have done that months ago," Logan said when he found his voice.

Kendall laughed. "You would have freaked out if I had done this then."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Logan asked, turning slightly to place his chin on Kendall's chest so he could meet his eyes. 

"I didn't want to scare you away," Kendall explained, trailing his fingers through Logan's hair. "I decided to wait it out, see if you'd respond to me at some point."

"I wasn't scared of you," Logan said, but he wasn't sure if that was the truth. 

"It's fine if you were, Logie," Kendall told him. "I was terrified."

"Why?"

"Because I had feelings for my best friend and I desperately hoped he would return those at some point, but I wasn't sure he would."

Logan climbed over Kendall and kissed him, sliding his hands up into his hair when Kendall's arms closed around his body. "I like you a lot though," Logan murmured to Kendall's lips before connecting them again. 

"Logan..."

"Kiss me," He whispered. 

Kendall groaned in reply and cupped Logan's head before flipping them over, hovering over him when he joined their lips. Logan quickly lost himself in Kendall, meeting him with open-mouthed kisses and wandering tongues. He trailed one of his hands down to Kendall's chest and enjoyed the feel of his tight muscle, Logan wanted to know what that felt like with just skin. In time though, Logan decided, maybe when they weren't out in the open. 

Soft lips moved along his cheeks to his ear and Logan turned his head to give Kendall better access, Kendall's fingers on his skin felt amazing, but the electric current under his skin when Kendall licked along his neck was wonderful. Logan arched his back to get more, to be closer, and Kendall grazed his teeth along Logan's skin, biting down in the spot just above his collarbone. He gasped and dug his nails in Kendall's skin. 

"Ouch," Kendall said, pulling away. 

Logan quickly let go. "Sorry," He answered. 

But Kendall was smiling and shook his head. "Don't be." His eyes moved along Logan's neck and he ran his fingers over the place his mouth just vacated. "I got a little carried away."

Logan blushed, but he found that he didn't mind the hickey all too much if it weren't for the fact he needed to go out in public. "That'll be hard to cover up."

He shrugged. "James has make-up."

"I'm not surprised."

"I even helped him apply it a couple of times back when he was still a man-whore."

Logan smiled. James hadn't been out with anyone since Lucy he fell for Lucy. "I think you might be right about him and Lucy."

"Yeah?"

"He broke the helmet because Carlos got in his face while he was calling her. Not even on purpose, by the way."

"I suspected that whole thing was an accident," Kendall sighed. "I hope she comes back for the TCAs, James rarely gets so annoyed he starts breaking stuff."

"Lucy added fifteen more dates to her Europe Tour," Logan recalled. 

"Fuck."

Logan nodded, moving his hand along Kendall's side when he sighed. "Maybe she'll find the time to come back for a couple of days."

"I may know a way to make that happen."

"You do?" Logan asked excitedly. 

The mischievous spark in Kendall's eyes reappeared and he smirked. "It involves minimal scheming too, just a little conversation with Griffin."

"You'll make James very happy."

"All his friends are, can't have him be a fifth wheel on double dates."

"Poor thing."

"I wouldn't go that far. He paraded his many, many dates in front of us for years, he'll deal."

Logan laughed and Kendall stood up, taking his hands to pull him along. "Come swim with me."

"The water’s freezing,” He warned.

"It will be fun, Logie," Kendall told him, handing him his bathing suit. 

Logan hesitated when he took the trunks because while it hadn't been a big deal to change in front of Kendall before, it certainly was now. 

Kendall noticed and smiled. "I'll look the other way."

"Yeah, okay."

They both turned away and Logan realised that the big downside of privacy was that he couldn't look at Kendall either. Logan carefully kept his mind from wandering before, but since kissing Kendall turned out to be his new favourite thing in the world, Logan was terribly curious to find out more. 

He looked up when he heard quick footsteps and leaves crunching and was just in time to see Kendall jump in the creek. Logan followed quickly and smiled when Kendall came up for air. "Fuck, that’s cold!"

"I told you," Logan laughed.

Kendall swam to the edge and held out a hand. "Come join me."

Logan sat down and dipped his feet in first, hoping to slowly get his body acclimated to the temperature. Kendall had different plans; he put his hands on Logan's waist and pulled him down. "Kendall!"

"Cold turkey, Logie," Kendall laughed, holding him close before sinking through his legs so they both sank underwater. 

Logan shivered when they came back up for air. "So cold." 

"Yes, but now you're used to it."

"No! That's not how this works," Logan told him. 

Kendall kissed him briefly before he let go of him and swam to the waterfall, first holding his hand under it to test the pressure before sticking his head in. Logan shook his head and followed. Kendall was right about going cold turkey, the water wasn't freezing cold anymore and Logan begrudgingly admitted he'd gone a little soft since he left Minnesota. They used to swim in much colder lakes all the time. 

Kendall let the water run down his back and smiled when Logan joined him. "This is fun, I can't believe we didn't come back sooner," Kendall said. 

"I fear mosquitoes have something to do with that."

"His loss," Kendall shrugged. "We could always take Carlos, he'd love this."

"Yeah." Logan smiled. "Though he won't get out of the water the whole time we're here, jumping off the rocks and having water fights and diving up stones."

"Our friends are children."

"Very much so."

Kendall smirked and Logan wasn't fast enough to do something about the ominous feeling that popped up before he was met with a face full of water. "It's on," He declared when he was done coughing.

"Bring it."

Logan jumped Kendall and tried to dunk him, but Kendall reached the bottom of the creek and didn’t lose his footing. He used Logan’s momentum to grab him and started tickling him. They wrestled until Logan managed to break free, swimming away from Kendall and his titillating fingers. Logan considered they might be more like children than James and Carlos were but decided he didn't care. Logan loved that nothing between him and Kendall had to change now there were more than just friendly feelings between them. 

So when Kendall inevitably caught up with him and closed his arms around Logan, he decided to change tactics and resort to his cheating ways. Logan attached his mouth to Kendall's neck, placing slow kisses along wet skin, up to his jaw. "God, Logan," He groaned, sliding his hands down to Logan's legs to pull them around his waist. Logan took the noise Kendall made as encouragement and moved a hand up into his hair, running his fingers through and tugging slightly, earning another moan from Kendall. 

Logan delighted in seeking out the things that made Kendall moan. How pulling at the wet, blonde strands near his neck made Kendall dig his fingers in Logan's thighs or that the kisses Logan placed under his jaw had him make a noise that Logan could feel resonate all the way in Kendall's chest. But what Kendall seemed to like most was to run his fingers along Logan's skin to make Logan arch into him, to kiss him until Logan was breathless, to make Logan whimper and curse quietly whenever he came near the sensitive spot behind his ear. 

Logan wished they could stay there forever, forget 2J and the band and anything beyond that because Logan had fallen for Kendall so much harder than he ever thought possible.   
And so they made out in the water until the sun started to set and the water reflected the glittering orange light. The constant noise of the waterfall drowned out all other noise and Logan just knew Kendall; his warm body in the cool water and his big hands on his hips and his lips claiming Logan's. 

"You've got goosebumps," Kendall whispered to his lips when the sun had set beyond the treeline. 

Logan glanced at his skin to see. He was tempted to ignore them and keep kissing Kendall but then saw that Kendall’s skin had gone almost grey and he noticed the air had taken on the same temperature as the water. "I don't want to go home," He answered reluctantly. 

"Me either," Kendall agreed, "But I don't want you to get sick either."

Logan had never felt as good as he did at that moment, but he had to agree that Kendall's blue lips worried him too. "Okay," He agreed wistfully. 

Kendall kissed him softly before letting go of him and wading back to edge. Logan was slower, his toes barely brushed the bottom of the creek and he had to swim. "Can you reach the bottom?" 

Logan shook his head. Kendall smiled and pulled him closer through the water, sliding his hands below Logan's legs again. He carried Logan the rest of the way and Logan was reminded of the first few times Kendall showed interest in him. 

"What's with the smile?" Kendall asked.

"Every time you found an excuse to be close to me it came down to something to do with height, this is fitting."

"Awesome opportune moments to get my hands on you," Kendall said happily. He'd reached the edge and helped Logan climb out before lifting him himself out of the water. 

Kendall dug out the towels and wrapped one around Logan, pulling him in close to rub him dry. Logan smiled gratefully and leaned against Kendall's chest. "I have a question."

"Alright."

"Did you purposely leave the shower head up high?"

Kendall laughed in surprise. "Yes, but that was the only time I staged anything. The rest were all happy accidents."

He handed Logan his clothes and Kendall turned around again to dry and get dressed. After quickly packing up the rest of their stuff they started on their way back to the car. Kendall pulled Logan close when he saw him shiver. As they walked down the trail Logan started dreaming of his warm bed and falling asleep with Kendall’s arms around him. "James better be out of our room tonight," Logan told Kendall, repeating his earlier comment.

Kendall didn't answer apart from brushing his lips to Logan's temple and he got the sense that even if James was still there, Kendall would find a way for them to be together.

They reached the car and Logan helped Kendall pull off the hood before they got in, immediately turning the heater on. "Can we come back some time?" Logan asked when Kendall had the car back on the road. 

"Yes, definitely."

"Let's not take Carlos."

Kendall took his hand and Logan saw him smile in the rear-view mirror. "Let's not," He agreed. 

Logan pulled out his phone and saw he had messages from Carlos questioning their whereabouts. Apparently James had kept true to his word and didn't tell anyone what they were doing tonight. James texted him too, but just to ask when they'd be home. "They're still fighting," Logan told Kendall when he read James' other text. 

"Since when does Carlos hold grudges?" Kendall complained. 

"This is new," Logan agreed. Carlos was easy to set off, but normally he forgot about whatever was bothering him by the next meal. 

Kendall sighed and Logan understood his sentiment. Carlos had every right to be mad but being annoyed with James was useless too; he'd clearly tried to mend their fight. Normally Kendall and Logan would have just sucked it up and waited it out but after today... Logan didn't want to be away from Kendall.

"If we're really lucky Carlos and Stephanie have a sleepover at her place," Logan tried optimistically. 

"Not gonna happen," Kendall said wistfully. "Her dad is very religious, they barely tolerate their relationship as is."

"But they're doing it," Logan said confused. "I always assumed at her place, she's barely in 2J."

"I haven't figured that part out either. I’ll pry that out of him sometime," Kendall laughed. "Good for him though."

"Yeah," Logan agreed. Carlos had gone from having zero action to going all the way in record time and Logan knew he was the last one of his friends who yet to have sex. He wasn't even sure if Kendall was aware of that but quickly decided to leave that conversation for another time. 

The rest of the drive back to the Palm Woods was mostly silent and by the time Kendall parked the car it ten o'clock and completely dark outside. Logan sighed and wanted to get out, praying for some miracle that James wouldn't be up in their room when they arrived, but Kendall put his hand on his arm and stopped him. 

"Come," Kendall said softly when Logan met his eyes. He pushed his chair all the way back and placed his hands on Logan's waist to help him climb over. Kendall's hands settled on Logan's thighs and he murmured, "In case we're not in the same room tonight," before kissing him. 

Logan went with it gladly, desperately, because the idea of separating made his heart hurt. Kendall's hands slowly trailed up along Logan's legs to his back and he gasped into Kendall's mouth when long fingers made their way up under his shirt. Logan's hands moved into Kendall's hair to hear him moan again, to feel the soft strands between his fingers and to have something to hold when their tongues met again, to make sure that Kendall stayed close. 

The need inside him burned and Logan felt his face flush in embarrassment when he felt how hard he was. The bashfulness lasted for all of a second when Kendall pushed into the small of his back until their hips were pressed together and Logan found he was just as aroused. Kendall groaned into his mouth, before moving his lips along the side of his head and nibbling on Logan's earlobe as his hands slid down to cup his butt. 

Logan couldn't think straight, his mind went into overdrive, as with Kendall's hands on him he could only feel the electricity run under his skin and the heat coiling in his stomach. Kendall nipped along his neck and Logan whimpered when Kendall brushed the tips of his fingers along the skin just above his jeans, pressing his hips to Kendall’s. "Fuck," Kendall panted, pushing Logan away a bit. 

He wanted to lean back in, join their lips again and find out what more felt like, but Kendall held him off. "We're not doing this in a car," He rasped, opening the car door. 

Logan nodded and climbed off Kendall to get out, who quickly followed him and took his hand, walking across the deserted parking lot and into an empty lobby. Logan was grateful he didn't need to let go of Kendall's hand, but even more so when Kendall pressed the button for the elevator before backing Logan up against the wall, kissing him hard. Logan put his hands on Kendall's chest and found that when standing up their hips misaligned, which was Logan's new biggest annoyance concerning their height difference until Kendall worked his legs apart and pressed his thigh against Logan's crotch. He moaned and threw his head back, Kendall took immediate advantage of the access to Logan's throat to kiss and lick at his skin. 

The elevator arrived and this time Logan pressed Kendall up against the wall, after barely mustering enough sense to push the button to the right floor. Kendall didn't seem to mind at all and planted his hands back on Logan's ass, leaving burning kisses along Logan's jaw. "Kendall," Logan sighed, sliding his own hands up Kendall’s shirt to trace his abs. 

"How are you this hot?" Kendall replied, pressing the words into Logan's skin between sloppy kisses. 

Logan didn't have time to answer before the elevator doors opened again and after checking if the hallway clear, he pulled Kendall along to their apartment by his hand. Kendall's mouth was back on his neck while Logan was fumbling with his keys, but pulled away before Logan got the door open. 

Logan's heart skipped a beat when the living room was deserted and he wanted to pull Kendall to the couch, but he held Logan back. "Bedroom," He told Logan, hands curling back around his waist as his lips claimed Logan's. 

"James," Logan managed to say. His jeans were uncomfortably tight and he wanted to do something about it now. 

"Fuck James," Kendall replied, hands back below Logan's shirt as he backed Logan into the back hallway. 

"Please don't," He replied, the idea making him sick to his stomach. This was something he didn’t want to share.

Kendall growled in reply and Logan knew they needed to be alone right that minute. He managed to get out of Kendall's grasp and marched straight for their room. 

James was sitting on Kendall's bed, this time watching a show on his tablet. "Get out," Logan told him. 

"What? Dude, I wanted to go to sleep."

"Then suffer," Kendall announced when he followed Logan into the room. Logan closed his eyes when lips were back on in that spot behind his ear and he bit his lip to keep from moaning, feeling the heat run down his body. Kendall's arms closed around his waist and he pressed up to Logan, groin pressed up to Logan's lower back as he ran open-mouthed kisses down his neck. 

"What the fuck?"

Logan wanted to tell James this was payback for all the times he interrupted them, but then Kendall's fingers were back on his skin and trailed up along his stomach. Logan hardly managed to breathe and he desperately wanted to touch Kendall too; slide his hands up his chest and see dark, lust-filled eyes and red cheeks and fuck, Logan wanted to kiss him again. Kendall barely gave him any space to turn, hands still tight on Logan's midsection and on their way up, which didn't make any sense to Logan. Down would be much better.

"You're not seriously going to have sex now, are you?"

And that brought Logan back to reality somewhat, because as much as he wanted to keep going and for Kendall to keep touching him; maybe having sex this soon wasn't the best idea. Kendall apparently considered the same thing as he straightened up, even though his grip on Logan's hips tightened. 

"You were actually about to," James said, in total disbelief. "Since when do you two need me to be the voice of reason?"

"Fine, you were right. Can you get lost now?" Kendall asked him. 

"I was here first."

"This isn't even your room!"

"Until Carlos takes me back, it kinda is."

Logan stopped Kendall from retaliating. "James, would you go elsewhere for an hour or so? Please?"

"So you can do it in the place I sleep?"

"I have seen you do so much worse. Just, an hour, please?"

"Fine. But you owe me!"

"If anything, we're even after your little stunt this morning!" Logan called after him just before he closed the door. 

Kendall frowned. "How come he listens to you and not to me?" 

"Didn't we cover that this morning?"

Kendall rolled his eyes and took Logan's face in his hands, brushing his lips to Logan's and nipping at his bottom lip until Logan was ready to jump him again. "James was right though," Logan whispered when he managed to pull away.

"I know," Kendall agreed wistfully. 

Logan smiled and played with the hair in the back of Kendall's neck. "Pretty sure we'll get to it at some point."

Kendall grinned and rested their foreheads together. "Kissing you will hold me over for a while."

"Horndog."

Kendall raised both eyebrows and Logan thought back over their date; he was probably just as eager. 

Logan blushed. "So we both are."

Kendall smiled and ran his thumbs along Logan's cheeks. "I'm not complaining. I like this side of you."

Logan met Kendall's lips halfway and Kendall starting pushed him towards his bed, laying Logan down gently before climbing over him. "Is it weird to do this on your bed when James is still sleeping in it?" Logan asked between kisses. 

"I think it's weirder to keep bringing James up when I'm making out with you," Kendall replied, licking along Logan's jaw until he could graze his teeth along Logan's neck. 

"Fuck, Kendall," Logan whimpered.

"That's better," He murmured, sliding his hand up Logan's side. Logan pulled Kendall's face back to his and kissed him deeply, moving his hands up in Kendall's hair. He rested his lower body on Logan's and Logan automatically rubbed up against him, but Kendall was gone the next second. "Can't do that if we're not having sex," He explained when he saw Logan's questioning eyes.

Logan nodded, he didn't trust his self-control either. Instead, Kendall lay down next to him and pulled Logan into his arms, rubbing little circles into his side. 

"This was the best date I've ever been on," Logan said softly, looking up at Kendall as he cushioned his head on Kendall's bicep. 

Kendall smiled and rested his face close to Logan's. "Good. I think so too."

"Yeah?"

He nodded and brushed his lips to Logan's temple. “I got to take my favourite person in the world out on a date, something I’ve wanted to do for months, and the whole day was even more wonderful than I dreamed it could be.”

Logan blushed bright red, but when he looked up the light was back in Kendall's eyes and he kissed Logan softly. “I like you a lot, Logie.”

“I like you a lot too,” Logan whispered, leaning in for one more sweet kiss before cuddling into Kendall’s chest. The warmth that was usually just in his chest when Kendall was being so attentive enveloped him completely when Kendall pressed his lips to his forehead and locked his arms around his body. Logan shut his eyes and relished in it, thinking back to his conversation with James the night before. Logan was completely smitten; it might even be a fairly weak expression of his feelings for Kendall. 

"Will you stay here?" Logan asked quietly when he felt himself drift off to sleep.

"Not going anywhere," Kendall promised, his voice low and soothing and close. 

It was likely the best feeling in the world.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

James decided to give his friends an hour and a half before he went back to his room because, you know, he is an awesome friend. But while he was happy for Kendall and Logan and their newfound romance, that was more than enough time. James needed his beauty sleep, damnit. 

He knocked on the door first. James really did not want to walk into anything weird. James was pretty certain he kept them from having sex, but with the way Kendall was on Logan, he couldn't be sure. Logan had been moaning too; as if Kendall was a good kisser. Who knew?

After waiting a minute and still no reaction, James decided he'd waited long enough and opened the door. The room was dark apart from the night light next to Kendall's bed and James smiled when he saw Logan curled up in Kendall's arms, both of them fast asleep. It was freakin’ cute and James decided that even though he kinda felt like waking them up to tease them, he wouldn't. In the name of love and whatnot. 

James dropped his sweats and got into the other bed. Logan's was more comfortable anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I have been working on a sequel to this, but it’s slow going. I have set up some storylines in this that I want to continue but I would love to know what you want to read!

**Author's Note:**

> I did exaggerate the height difference between Logan and Kendall a bit in order for the story to work. Fun fact; I'm 1.85m tall (6ft 1) and have never had any problems with tall people sitting in front of me or reaching high shelves, so the situations described in this story are completely foreign to me. 
> 
> This is my submission for the 'How they got together' prompt on the Big Time Rush Discussion & Weekly Prompt Forum over on FF.net. Check it out, we're growing steadily and it's fun!


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